Chaos' Twins
by Az The Dragon
Summary: -cancelled- Sonic's friends, G.U.N., Eggman, the BioLizard and Chaos. They are all different and with different purposes, yet they all have a common objective Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog.
1. Return of a Hero

Hmm lets see oh yeah! Sonic and co. Are of Sega, people!  
Here I am with the remake of this chapter. 

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Legend  
'Means thought'  
"Means speech"  
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Scene of the past or dreams   
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Thanks to:  
- My friends Kriko and Champagne, for involuntary inviting me writing this story (we were three crazy people in a class of crazy people I miss them, especially KriKo...)  
- Every English teacher for getting crazy teaching me the English (in particular my high school professor, I thought that she was going to throw us out of the class' window)

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And nowon with the story!

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CHAOS' TWINS

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CHAPTER ONE

Return Of A Hero

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He was lying on something soft in a dark room and the only thing that he could hear was a female voice singing to him; he couldn't understand what she was singing, but he could hear the soft and lovely tone of the female person that was at his side. He opened his eyes and saw a black shape suspended into the nothingness; he blinked and yawned as the sleep started to take control of his body and mind. Before he closed his eyes he saw that a light started to rise in the right side of the shape.  
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Sonic awoke with a start, letting lose a short scream; he briefly glanced around and sighed relieved "What a dream" He sat up and looked at the Mystic Ruin Temple; it reminded him that not even six month had passed since the Chaos incident. He stood up and looked at the sky; it was still dark, but a light patch illuminated the east "I know that you are still alive. I know it because we are too much alike." He muttered turning around and walking into the forest.

The blue hedgehog reached the cliff where Eggman's crumpled base lay and looked at the forest below 'Where are you? I know that you are here.' A little light caught his eyes; looking up he saw that it was the sun that pecked out from the cloud on the horizon. Sonic smiled at it 'It's years that I don't see a sunrise in peace and it feel good' The blue hedgehog was familiar with the event, but many times he saw it only briefly because he was in mission against his enemy.

He looked around for a way to descend; seeing only vertical cliff he sighed stepping on the edge 'I guess that I have to do it the really fast way' And he let his body fall down the precipice. After a few seconds of free fall the treetops' barricade was only a few feet away; instantly he curled up and felt the branches hit his body. As soon he felt clear of the tree's limbs he uncurled and landed kneeled; Sonic stood up and flexed his muscles a little "Hmm" He looked around and in the back of his mind an alarm went off. That meant that this was going to be a full day.

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The signs of the last battle between Sonic and Chaos were still heavily visible in Station Square; the city was still under reconstruction so the people who survived had to move out, and Amy was one of them. Luckily the pink hedgehog managed to find an apartment that was in its outskirts.

The sun shone brightly through the window of the apartment and Amy woke up groggily. She looked at the window with a hint of hate; she was annoyed by the fact that when she returned home she was so tired that she went straight to bed forgetting about closing the shutters.

The hedgehog looked at the clock on her nightstand and flopped back in bed "Almost eleven and I'm still tired" She muttered rubbing her eyes; she sighed and let her mind wander. It was only a few hours since Sonic and Shadow saved the world from the falling colony and when they returned to Earth, the sky was already dark. She wandered to the moment of when they embarked the shuttle to go back; Sonic and Tails were the pilots 'I was really shocked when I found out that Sonic could pilot a shuttle with little effort. He has so much in him that sometimes I wonder who he is.'

She sat up frowning "Nonsense Amy! Sonic is Sonic, and nobody else! He just knows a lot of things, that's why he always win." She said to herself getting off of the bed; the pink female stretched and walked into the kitchen "I wonder how the others are doing" She opened the fridge and took out a milk cartoon "I know that Tails and Knuckles went to their respective homes, but what about Sonic and Rouge?"

Amy put the cartoon on the table and took out a box of cereals 'If Rouge is a spy then maybe she went to report to the president before she returned home.' Her thoughts brought up a little scene that she saw on the shuttle. The bat was staring intently at Knuckles, who was staring at his beloved, and renewed, Master Emerald; the female had a daydreaming expression on her eyes and sometimes she would sigh. Amy giggled a little 'I guess that Knuckles will be busy in the near future' Her giggling died down as the topic brought her to think about her hero.

Amy sighed as she picked up a bowl and sat at the table 'Sonic was so down I never saw him like that. Shadow's death must have been painful for him It's strange I mean They were enemy from the first time they saw each other, yet, when they teamed up they understood each other like they were long standing friends' She poured the milk and the cereal into the bowl "After that he didn't talk anymore. No smart jokes, no victorious smiles, no nothing." Her eyes watered 'He was like dead, and after we landed he disappeared without telling us where he was going.'

Her thoughts were interrupted from a sudden ring that came from the living room; she walked towards the phone and picked it up "Yes?" "Amy? It's me, Tails!" "Oh, hi Tails! How are you?" Tails tempted to suppress a yawn without success "A little sleepy. I've got only six hours of sleep." She chuckled lightly "Yeah, coming home at four in the morning isn't very nice. But why did you phone me? There's something bugging you?" "Yes, do you know where Sonic may be? I have to talk with him. I think that Eggman is up to something."

Amy sighed "No, but before he disappeared I heard him mutter 'I know that you're alive.' According to you what it means?" The fox thought for a moment, "I don't know." A few seconds passed in silence "Tails," She paused and sighed "I'm very preoccupied, he was so depressed. I tried to talk to him, but he just ran away." "Really?" "Yeah, I think that he's depressed over the fact that Shadow is dead."

There was a mumbling noise that came from Tails' end "Maybe he just want to be alone for a while. But I have to talk with him." Tails stated. Amy smiled lightly, she had an idea "Tails, can I come?" "Ohhh, OK, see you this afternoon." He responded lightly perplexed. "Ok, see you later." She lowered the receiver and replaced it in its rightful place, "Oh Sonic, where are you?" No doubt that she was very preoccupied about her blue hero.

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That afternoon Amy and Tails were walking towards the Station Square's train station; they searched the entire city, but Sonic was not here. The two tailed fox looked at his thoughtful friend "Amy, what are you thinking about?" She looked at him "Tails, where is that new Chao Garden? Maybe he's there. I know that he likes the chao." "The one near the capital? It's very far from here. Even going at Sonic's max speed, it'll take a good half hour, and you aren't capable of travelling on the tail of the Tornado without Sonic's support" Amy looked down at her feet and unshed tears formed in her eyes. Tails slapped a hand over his forehead "Amy! We can use the teleporter that is in the Mystic Ruins' Chao Garden!" She looked at him and nodded cheerfully.

"Chaaaaooooo!" A young azure chao yelled running towards Amy with a big heart on her head "Iris!" Amy exclaimed picking her up and hugging her lightly "Is she your chao?" Tails asked walking towards the teleporter "Yes, I found her outside, in the park. She was still an egg." She then looked at the little being in her arms "That's why she hasn't already made friendship with the other chao, I think she feel different." "How could a chao egg end up there? They live exclusively in gardens!" She shrugged "I don't know." The fox kneeled in front of the machine "It will take only a few minutes to insert the new co-ordinates." The pink hedgehog put down Iris and looked at her "Now, my little friend, I'm going to another garden. I'll come back soon."

The chao was starting to cry; she wanted to go with her only friend "Chaaaaaoooo" she pleaded "You can take her with you, after all we're going to another garden" Tails said tinkering with the teletransport; there were a few wires that came out of a little door at the base of the flat machine "Here, I'm done." Amy looked at the little chao smiling "OK, you can come." And picked her up "Puvu!" She exclaimed and throws her little arms up in the air to emphasize her happiness.

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The autumnal sun shone brightly upon the forest; it was a beautiful afternoon but the weather was getting worse because some black cloud were coming from east, and they didn't looked good. The fauna was busy preparing for the incoming storm so it didn't notice the confused figure that was wandering through the thick undergrowth.

"Wonderful! It's hours that I'm walking and the only things that I've seen so far are trees, bushes, streams and more trees!" He sighed and sat on a layer of dry leaves "I can't go on like this, I'm still tired from the last battle." He looked at the sky through the tree's foliage, some grey cloud were already above the forest "This is not my day A storm is nearly here, I don't know where I am or how to exit alive of this maze, plus she's still alive and there's this feeling that this is not the end."

A noise that came from his back startled him; he stood up and took a defensive position. A blue hedgehog came out of the bushes "Maybe I can help you, Shadow. We're in the middle of the forest near the Mystic Ruins." He said taking twigs and leaves out of his quills "Sonic?" He asked "How did you find me?" "Following my sixth sense." Shadow looked at Sonic disbelieved 'How can he find me only following his 'sixth sense'?' A few seconds passed in silence, to the two seemed like eternity "Shadow, can you feel it?" "Yes, but how" "Told you, my sixth sense." He said shrugging.

A distant growl filled with hate and rancour startled them. They looked towards Northwest "She's already here." Sonic started looking back at the ebony hedgehog "I must stop her, even if I'm very tired. Shadow, are you with me?" He turned to face his blue double "Anything to keep the promise I made to Maria." "What promise?" "That I" Another growl, louder now, reminded them of their imminent, big problem; Sonic looked at his companion "What do you say, it's better a frontal attack or a surprise attack?" "I opt for the second, even if it's useless."

The two looked at the trees "Chaos Control?" The blue hedgehog asked looking back at the other; Shadow didn't turn "Hm?" "You used Chaos Control to save yourself, am I right?" The black hedgehog faced him "How?" Sonic chuckled lightly "Just a right guess."

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Here! Done even the remake of the first chapter. I hope you like it better than the first version, I surely am.

Next chapter  
"When the struggle never end"

Az


	2. When the Struggle Never End

Hello again! It's Az here! I had little problem with this part but here it is. And remember! I like comments (Hey, I need friends! Really!)  
Ah! I was forgetting the Title 17!  
In this fanfic everything is Copyright of Sega, there are some characters that I created for the need of the story, but you'll never seen other characters.

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Legend

'Means thought'  
"Means speech"  
˜ Dreams or scene of the past ˜

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Thanks to 

- Kati, for helping me when I was under some rocks called "Problems"  
- Everyone that read my fic and reviewed it.

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Quote:

"But, prof… I didn't found anything more than that…"  
"There are that ancient things made of paper, you know… you can find them in that building called library…"  
"You mean the books?"  
"Yes."

Me and my prof of graphic at the end of my examination.

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That's enough talk! On with the part 2 of the story!

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Chapter two

When the Struggle Never End

Amy sat on the stone near the waterfall looking at a couple of Chao that were looking at each other in the eyes with dare. One was a hero Chao; his skin was of a pure white with azure strip at the end of his little hands and feet, over his head a little golden halo was hovering denying the gravity's law. The other was a dark Chao; he looked like Shadow and instead of the halo he had a little spiked ball.

Meanwhile the two were fighting with the glance the other Chao were trying to calm down the two high spirited souls, but to no avail. "I think to know whom they belong to…" She looked at Iris that was sleeping on her lap, "I'm sorry for the dark Chao, his mentor died in the last battle." By now the two competitive Chao were racing side-by-side through the entire garden overwhelming everything on their path. "Wow, they're really fast!" Tails said walking toward her, he had a demoralised look on his face "I've look in the hero Garden, even in the dark and in the Kindergander, but…" He scratched his head. "He's not here, right?" She finished for him. "Yes, now I don't know where to look, I was hoping to find him here." He said looking at the now awakened Chao "Puuvuu…" She said rubbing her eyes. Amy looked down at her "Did the two marathon runners wake you up?" She nodded and looked at the two Chao; they were still running but slowly than before.

Five minutes passed but they still insisted on running, that's until they tripped upon their own feet; "Chaaaooo!" The two exclaimed in unison. The hero Chao stood up and looked at his rival "Chao!" He said pointing at him. The other responded standing up and indicating the feet of the first. They squabbled until they resumed the glare position. The two quarrellers were interrupted by something that covered them in shadow; they looked up and saw Amy kneeling down "Sorry to interrupt you, but can't you stop it? You're messing with the tranquil life of the others Chao" The white Chao looked at her, "Chao…" He apologised lowering his head; the other turned and walked away. "Why a dark and a hero Chao are in the same garden?" Tails asked perplexed. Amy shrugged "I dunno…" "Anyway, we must go, it's getting late." He said looking at the sky "OK." She said putting Iris on the ground and petting her in the head "Listen Iris, now I leave you here. I promise to be back as soon as possible. Be good and make friendship with the others!" The little Chao looked at her with sad eyes then nodded; she knew that was the time that her friend would leave the garden. Amy raised and started walking with Tails toward the Garden's entrance. When the two where gone Iris hid herself under the tall ferns that were growing near the waterfall. The hero Chao followed her and instead of walking under the same plant he seated in front of it as if waiting for the newcomer to come out of her hide; later the dark Chao joined his rival but the glare of dare didn't subsided despite the situation.

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In the forest the trees were swayed by the wind's fury; even if it was slightly dark the various lightning that were coming out from the black cloud lightened the sky like it was full day; the storm was worse than anyone could guess.

Amongst the trees two figures were running to avoid some black sphere that were chasing them, "Sonic… how… how is it?" Shadow asked panting "No… good, it's… stronger… than last time." He answered tiredly. By now they were fighting for about four hours and the weather didn't helped them for sure. The terrain was muddy; the rain was so hard that the trees couldn't offer much repair; the field of vision was very short because the tree tops made the undergrowth's environment darker than the upside one, and running through it caused them little, but painful cut.

In the distance a growl of rage was heard; they stopped and looked toward the sound's direction; Sonic put a hand over his eyes to stop the rain that was pouring down "The BioLizard… is a little… angry." "Yes… if this go on… we'll not survive… for another… half-hour." The noise of falling trees associated with another growl made them resume their running. Shadow looked at his companion with the corner of his eye "Any… idea?" "Maybe." "Then… spit it out!" The blue hedgehog pointed at the gloomy sky, "I'm thinking… to use the storm… to our advantage." "How?" Sonic took a long breath "Listen! If we…"

The BioLizard was very mad; the two hedgehogs had managed to make her lose their trace; she let out a frustrated growl so powerful that it was heard clearly over the rain and thunder's noise. In response to it, two yell of war rose from the near tree tops, recognising the voices she neared the yells' origin point with a low menacing growl. The beast looked into the foliage but her two enemies were not here. She was about to raise her head when she heard something fell on her back, she looked behind and saw a tired Shadow on her life support waving at her as if nothing had happened; that made her even angrier. She was about to attack with a black sphere when something else fell on her nape; "Shadow! Hurry! I… I can't… resist for long!" In fact Sonic was having difficulty to hold the grasp because the BioLizard was shaking forcefully her long neck to try to take the blue hedgehog off of her head.

Meanwhile the two of them were fighting, Shadow was trying to raise towards the sky a broken pipe that was coming out of the life support, "Come…on! Give…up!" He pulled harder "I… SAID... GIVE… UP! ARRGHH!" With this last effort the pipe finally gave in. Shadow lost the equilibrium; he fell backwards on the BioLizard's tail and he was launched about fifty feet away and landed on some wet bushes. He rose up weakly and looked at the scene. The two were in the middle of a clearing made by the struggle and Sonic was still clinging onto the beast's head; the tube was about fifteen feet in the air, it glistened with the lightening of the still raging storm and now the rain was becoming harder. He ran near the struggle enough to be heard from his friend and cupped the hands on his mouth "SONIC! YOU CAN LET GO!" He shouted.

The other hedgehog looked at him then jumped down from the mad BioLizard; he landed few feet from Shadow, the look on his face was of pure exhaustion "Now…" He said looking at the beast "We must only hope for the best." The black hedgehog nodded and looked at the BioLizard, she was trying to rip off the pipe from the life support but her anatomy made her effort useless. "Sonic… We must take advantage of this situation…" Then looked at him "Can you run?" Sonic nodded "Can manage, beside I don't want be here when my plan start… if start…" then started running expending his last energies. Shadow glanced again at the BioLizard 'I fear that this is only the beginning.' A lightening crossed the sky illuminating everything 'I hope that this plan will give us enough time to recover.' Then he turned and began running as fast as his tired legs could carry him.

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In the hotel lobby an orange fox with two tails and a pink hedgehog were talking to each other. "Tails, where do you think he could be?" "I don't know, Amy. I don't know." He said looking out of the glass door, the storm was still on and nobody was on the streets. "Listen Amy, I must go, it's really late. See you next time." He turned to leave but Amy stopped him putting a hand on his shoulder "Tails, if Sonic is at your workshop, can you phone me?" He smiled "Sure!" And stepped out of the hotel "Whoa! Look at the weather!" And ran toward the train station.

Amy watched Tails disappear into the rain, "Sonic…" She whispered to herself. "Miss Rose? It's everything alright?" The hotelkeeper asked preoccupied. She looked at him "Don't worry. I'm OK." "Should I call a taxi?" "Yes, please."

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Tails jumped out in the wooden platform of the Mystic Ruin's train station; it was nearly 20.15 and it was dark; though the rain stopped while ago, the storm was not gone because in the sky the lightening were still raging. He was starting to descend the stairs when a very far away explosion followed by a cry filled the air. Tails felt himself uneasy and decided to run at home at once; whatever it was, it was scary.

He arrived at the doorstep of his home and took out his keys from a secret little hollow under the battered carpet. He unlocked the door and was getting ready to enter when something caught his attention. The fox pricked up his ears to listen; it was faint, the only thing that he could understand was something that sounded like "ais". He listened harder and looked around; something in the darkness was moving towards his house.

Tails was struck with fear mixed with curiosity; he waited for it to come nearer and when another lightening crossed the sky he discovered with surprise that the two black shape were none other than Sonic immediately followed by Shadow. He rushed to them and when he was near enough to see the two distinctively he gasped; they were covered in small cut, not serious but painful. "Sonic? What happened? Where have you been? How did you get these cuts?" He asked worriedly then looked at Shadow "And how he survived at the fall?" Sonic raised a hand "Tails, I'll explain everything tomorrow, I promise. But now, can you help us? We're a little messy." With that statement the two hedgehogs walked slowly toward Tails' house. The fox was astounded; he had never seen his friend like this 'They must gone through something very dangerous.'

"Sonic, Shadow, this may sting." Said Tails coming out of the bathroom holding a pack of cotton in one hand and a bottle of disinfectant in the other "It doesn't matter, I'm to tired to wince." Sonic said looking blankly out of the window; by now the storm had passed away, but the moon and the stars were still covered by the clouds and this made the outside environment very dark. He was sitting in a bench with the arms folded on the table; Shadow was on the opposite side in the same position but with the head leaned on his arms and fast asleep. "So, Sonic. What happened to you two?" The fox asked handing him a piece of cotton impregnated with disinfectant "We had a big fight and were already tired from the last. The cuts were made by the leaves; you know that if you run fast through them, they become like metal blades." The blue hedgehog said cleaning his cuts; they were small and superficial so not much blood was lost.

When he was done he handed the dirty cotton to his friend, leaned his head upon his arms and closed his eyes; "And why you were running?" Tails asked curiously throwing it away "To strong…" The fox took some new white cotton from the pack "Who?" He was to late; Sonic, like Shadow, was sleeping on the table. He shook his head and walked towards his other guest waking him and giving him the little tool. The black hedgehog took it and started swabbing his wounds; Tails seated near him and looked at his sleeping friend on the other side of the table "Shadow… Sonic told me that you two had a hard fight. But what did you were fighting?" He asked him "The BioLizard…" "Ehh?" The fox exclaimed alarmed "She survived? How?" Now he was really confused; he was very surprised to see Shadow alive but this news was really unpleasant. "Don't worry, tomorrow everything will be explained." Tails sighed "OK. I'll wait tomorrow." A couple of minutes passed in silences until Tails broke it raising from the bench "Anyway, where can I put you two for the night?" Shadow put the red cotton on the table and looked at the now cleaned cuts on his arms "I can sleep everywhere, even on the floor." The fox looked at him "Don't even think about it!" Then looked around "He-he…" He looked again at the black hedgehog "Shadow, do you like couches?" "What do you mean?" Tails pointed at his couch; it was in the corner opposite the door and was L shaped "Better than the floor, right?" Shadow nodded; finally he was getting some serious sleep. Tails trotted into his room and meanwhile he was searching for extra blankets and pillows, Shadow went round the table and shook the other hedgehog "Sonic, wake up! We have better place where we can sleep." "Uh?" "The couch, Sonic. The couch."

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When the next morning Tails woke, it was nearly 8.00; he wore his sneakers and walked in the living room. Shadow and Sonic were still sleeping deeply; the expression on their face was a very peaceful one. Tails walked toward the couch to wake them and slapped a hand over his forehead "I don't believe it! It wasn't enough for them to resemble each other in the look and in the technique!" He said folding his arms. Between the base of the couch and the mobile that was holding up the TV, there and here scattered on the floor, were laying two pair of sneakers. The fox sighed and kneeled beside his blue friend "Sonic, wake up!" There was no sign of movement from the hedgehog; he scratched his muzzle and shook him lightly "Oh, please! Wake up!" The only response that Sonic gave him was a hum of annoyance. "Ok… you win." He raised and walked into the little kitchen "Let see what are the today's news."

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In the Pyramid Base Eggman was reading a text that was scrolling on a screen; "Ho-ho!" He exclaimed surprised "So my grandfather's experiment wasn't only the Project Shadow!" He turned to face two identical robot; the only thing that distinguished them was the colour. "Metal Sonic! Metal Shadow! Bring me the first Chaos Emeralds that you can find!" They nodded and walked out of the control room. "They will be back soon. The Emerald Radar that I've installed in them is more powerful than the one that I gave to Rouge." Eggman looked at the screen again "This time Sonic will not interfere with my plans." In the base's corridors an evil laugher rumbled for several minutes.

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˜ The little Shadow was running through the metal corridors to catch up with a blonde girl. She was dressing a light blue dress that was nearly touching the floor; it's frills and the shoes were of a teal colour; in her head a headband of the same colour was holding her long hairs "Maria! Wait!" The girl stopped walking and turned around to face him "Shadow. What is it?" The tone of her voice was kind; music to Shadow's hears. "Maria, he's still alive! I'm sure!" Maria sighed and kneeled in front of him "Listen, my dear Shadow. I know that you were really attached to him, but you must understand that he's gone and will never return." She caressed his cheek and kissed him on the forehead "Maria, I know that a week ago he disappeared whit six emeralds after an explosion, but I feel that he's alive." He walked to the nearest window that was facing the Earth and put his little paws on the thick glass "Down here… but alive." Maria put a hand on his shoulder; he turned around with unshed tears in the eyes "Maria, I… I miss him so much." And started sobbing; She hugged him "I know. I know. I miss him too." ˜

Shadow woke with a little yelp of confusion and started looking around disoriented 'Oh, yes. Now I remember…' He sat upright and rubbed his eyes 'What was that? Maybe a memory that wants to return? If so, who I missed back then?' "Oh! You're awake!" Tails said walking into Shadow's view "Sleep well?" He asked picking up the remote control "Yes…" He responded still sleepy. The fox pressed a button an the TV started speaking "Taiiiilsss… turn off the TV. Please." Sonic said pleading "Sorry, but you must see this!" The blue hedgehog seated up "OK, what is it?" "Look." On the screen of the TV a journalist was speaking; at his back a building was burning and some fire-fighters were trying to control the arson. "This morning the National Bank was attacked by two robots. The eyewitnesses declare that their shape was like the one of Sonic The Hedgehog. The authority think that it's another plan of DR. Eggman because the only thing that was robbed was a Chaos Emerald." "So, Eggman strike again?" Sonic asked picking up his shoe that was near the couch. Tails turned off the TV and looked at him "That's what I was trying to tell you when we were at the space airport, but you vanished before I got the chance to talk to you…" "How did you knew that he was up to something?" "Before we left the ARK I saw him pick up something small, maybe a box containing a CD." "OK, call the others… beside we have some explanation to make." He said looking at Shadow.

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Maybe now you are full of question but for the answers you must wait for the next chapter:  
"Reunion of the gang"

Az


	3. Reunion of the Gang

Hello again! This time I'll make it short…  
Sonic, Shadow and co are of Sega. Steal them and feel their wrath.

**Authoress' Note:** just to say it, I think that the color of the light of the Chaos Control depends on what emerald Sonic, or Shadow, is holding. You see, at the beginning of SA2 Shadow Chaos Controlled using the green emerald, and the light was white-green. At the end he used it again to save himself, but the color was white-purple, from the purple Chaos Emerald. But again, this is only my opinion.  
  


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CHAPTER THREE

Reunion Of The Gang

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Rouge was sitting comfortably on the couch of her home when she turned on the TV; she changed channel until she found what she was searching. "Well, what happened now?" She asked to herself eyeing the screen with interest.

The TV was showing the map of the forest near the Mystic Ruins; the place had a path of downed trees that went for more than six miles. For the most it was straight, but sometimes it was turning slightly to the left or to the right; the whole thing ended with an almost circular clearing.

The map disappeared to let a female journalist take place on the monitor "… So far any information on who or what caused the disaster isn't leaked out; we will keep you informed. And now we will pass to the economy news; the…" The speaker was silenced by the bat who changed channel in hope to pick up another news regarding the event "Maybe it's Eggman's fault, he's always up to something…"

Her searching was disturbed by a sudden ring; she looked down and noticed that it was her cellular. She turned off the TV and picked up the little machine; looking at the display she recognized the number to be the one of Tails. The bat pressed the green button and brought the instrument to her ear "Hello Tails." She greeted him cheerfully. Before they parted for their respective homes she gave her number to the others, so they could track her down wherever she was.

There was a second of silence from the fox's end before he realized that he was at the phone "Oh, hi Rouge! How did you knew it was me?" Rouge chuckled a little "I saw your number on the display." "Oh, anyway, Rouge, I called you for an interesting news."

The bat straightened up in her sitting position and gave her full attention to the young vulpine "Is Eggman back with another of his schemes?" "Yes, but…" He stopped for some seconds to think "But there's more and… and I don't know it all. Besides, Rouge… Shadow is alive."

Rouge's eyes widened in shock "W-what? How?" She stammered unable to come up with a good sentence. Her thoughts went to the black hedgehog; he had survived the fall, but how was he? Surely he would be badly burned and unable to move from a bed "I don't know how, but he showed up last night with Sonic. They were full of cuts, water and mud. They said that they fought the BioLizard, but more than that… nothing."

Rouge just listened to what the fox was telling her "Anyway Rouge, I phoned you to ask you to come here." The bat snapped back to reality as soon as the bi-tailed vulpine spoke. She cleared her mind from all the questions about Shadow "I'll be there in a hour, Tails." "Ok. See you later."

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The orange fox lowered the phone and turned around to face his two guests; they were still on the couch and not fully awake yet "Rouge will be here in a hour or so." He informed them. The blue hedgehog looked at him and rubbed his eyes "Knuckles?" He asked with a still sleepy voice.

Tails turned around and picked up the receiver once again "He's on his way and he'll probably be here in a hour too." He said dialing a number. Sonic stood up and stretched, finally getting rid of the sleepiness that was plaguing him "Who are you calling?" He asked seeing him with the phone in hand.

The fox turned to him "Amy, yesterday I promised her to call her if I found you. Just to light her up, Sonic. She was so down and worried about you…" He said smiling somewhat apologetically; he knew how much his best friend was annoyed by the girl. Yes, he cared about her, but sometimes she was damn annoying with her continual propositions of marrying.

The blue hedgehog sighed resigned "Ok…" He said sitting back on the couch and wearing his shoes. When he was done he stood up again and walked to the stairs "Listen, I'm going to the Chao Garden. See you in a hour."

Tails placed the receiver back where it belonged "Sonic, wait!" He exclaimed walking towards him. The blue hero turned around and looked at him "Yeah?" "Sonic, you aren't meaning the Garden of the capital, right?" Sonic crossed his arms and leaned his back on the wall "Yes, I have a chao there. Why?"

"Sonic! Even for you it'll take half a hour to get there, and the others will be here in a hour!" The fox scolded with a seriousness that was hard to give to someone of his age. The blue hedgehog grinned happily and produced the red Chaos Emerald in his right hand.

Tails felt like his arms would fall on the floor; Sonic had this particular ability to literally absorb the emeralds into his body and carry them without the aid of bags. Although he knew that he, and Knuckles, could do it too, he was amazed by the swiftness and ease of how he could do it; it was impressive to see, and sometimes he wondered how much ability the blue hedgehog had with the powerful gems.

The twin tailed fox passed a hand over his head and sighed "And where did that emerald spring from?" He asked turning his head towards the black hedgehog, who attracted his attention by walking at Sonic's side and taking the gem in his hand "We found it in a stream in the forest, after the fight against the BioLizard." He answered absorbing it with the same ease as his blue double.

Tails' eyes widened a little at that; they had more things in common than he had thought. The fox wondered how much they could still share between them; it was quite hard to think that they were just a coincidence…

Tails looked up at the two "Ok, but be back in a hour." He said smiling at him. The blue hedgehog smiled back and stood up from the wall "You coming?" He asked looking at his black counterpart.

The ebony hedgehog nodded and gave back the emerald to Sonic "Yes, besides I have a chao too." The blue hedgehog looked at him with a shocked face. Shadow raised an eyebrow "Well?" He asked crossing his arms. Sonic blinked a few times and waved a hand "Oh, just being a little shocked here… I never would have expected it from you…"

Shadow closed his eyes halfway and smiled a little mischievously "Yeah… just like me when I found you alive instead of dead…" He said uncrossing his arms and bringing them on his hips "Anyway, you still have to tell me how you managed to use Chaos Control, and with a fake emerald too…"

Tails' ears abruptly stood up as soon as Shadow mentioned that "That's right, Sonic! How you were able to do that?" He questioned him and getting into the conversation. The blue hedgehog looked at him, then at his double; both were waiting for an exhaustive answer.

Sonic thought for some seconds before he scratched his head in embarrass "Uh, well… I precisely don't know how I managed to do that… you see… when I was into that explosive capsule with the fake emerald I remembered you using it. It was my only way out, and I just… how to say it?" The blue hero paused to find the right words; it was really hard to explain how he succeeded. Damn, it was hard even for him to understand…

In the end he just sighed and threw a hand into the air "I really don't know how I managed to use Chaos Control… I wanted to get out of that capsule and I thought at how to use it. Then, something clicked into my mind and there I was, right next to Knuckles…"

During the whole explanation Shadow's expression went from unfazed to a really shocked one; he remembered how he learned the technique, and it was far from the method described by Sonic. The black hedgehog let his arms fall at his sides and looked at his double; how could he have learned the Chaos Control like that?

There was silence for several seconds with Sonic looking between Shadow and Tails "H… hello?" He asked breaking the unpleasant quiet. The black hedgehog blinked and subdued his shock, meanwhile the fox just continued staring at him deep in wonder.

Shadow walked onward, so he was in front of his blue doppelganger, and looked at him in the eyes "Now, Sonic… tell me… _what _are you?" He asked with a firm voice. Sonic backtracked a little and smiled a little uneasy; his instinct told him that this was going to be the beginning of a squabble "I already told you… I'm just a guy who loves adventures…"

Shadow's eyes flared up "That's not an answer!" He yelled frustrated. Sonic turned heels and ran down the stairs "Yes it is!" He yelled back. The black hedgehog clenched his fists and followed him "This time, Sonic, you're gonna tell me the truth!"

The fox followed them and stopped right out of the door of his workshop; his ears dropped as soon as he saw the scene. The two hedgehogs were running madly through the entire meadow; Sonic in the lead and Shadow just behind him. An inch further and he would be able to catch his blue counterpart by his quills; unfortunately for him he always managed to stay out of his reach.

The two passed near him and he noticed their expression. Sonic had changed his uneasy expression into a smiling one, he was also taunting his pursuer with his eyes; you could clearly see that. Shadow, instead, was angry, but not the same anger of before they teamed up; this seemed to be a childish anger.

In the end the fox could came up with only a comparison; they seemed to be boys of four, five or six years that were squabbling for a toy. Tails sighed and shook his head in resignation; how could someone like Sonic _and_ Shadow behave like that he simply couldn't understand.

The young vulpine watched the two ran, until Shadow finally managed to grab Sonic's quills by using a quick, but short burst of speed; the blue hedgehog was flung backwards by the tug, and his double lost his foot ending to fall forwards. Before the two could hit the ground, a white-red light engulfed them; when the light disappeared the hedgehogs were nowhere to be seen. The fox sighed and returned into his house 'Better call Amy…'

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It was just a low day in Capital City; the shops were closed and no cars were on the streets. Only few people were walking on the sidewalks and they were just enjoying the sunny day after the heavy storm of last night; most of them were still asleep after the worldwide party that went on for the entire day of yesterday.

The celebration at the space airport was broadcasted through every main channel; the president was there to deliver, representing everyone on Earth, a symbolic medal to the saviors. Even Eggman received his, and just for once he didn't spoil the ceremony; to tell the truth, he simply enjoyed it talking with the others.

But there was a downside on the ceremony; into the box containing the medals remained two of them. One was, of course, for Sonic, and the other was for the other hedgehog that teamed up and actively saved the whole world from a catastrophe.

No one knew why they weren't there; not even Tails, his best friend, knew where Sonic was. Everyone was sure to see him there smiling and telling how things went, but that never happened; for some strange reason the main heroes were not there. Little they knew how things really went…

The tranquillity of the city was broken by a white-red light that just appeared out of nowhere; the light faded away to let two hedgehogs appear right on the edge of a fountain. The black and red one was holding tightly the quills with his right hand and the right ear of the other, and it seemed that he wasn't going to let them go until he received what he wanted.

The other, that would have been his perfect copy if he wasn't blue and peach colored, was half turned to him and holding his grasping hand with his left one and pushing his head backwards with the other trying to let him lost his grip on his quills and ear.

The two stayed there struggling for some seconds totally unaware that the common people were staring at them in total confusion "Sonic! Give me that answer!" The black hedgehog exclaimed not letting his grip slack off "But I already told you!" The blue one whined still trying to free himself. Shadow rolled his eyes "That's not an answer!" He said tugging repeatedly at the other's quills.

Sonic responded letting a little ow of pain every time there was a tug; he huffed and tugged back as best as he could "Yes it is!" He talked back taking a step backwards. Unluckily for them he slipped on the edge and fell into the water taking his black double with him; the two had to struggle in the one-foot-and-half deep water for a second before they managed to upright themselves and surface.

Shadow spitted the water that was into his mouth "That was _not_ fair…" He muttered with eyes half closed. Sonic took an alga from his left shoulder and threw it back into the water "First of all, I didn't know that we were on the edge of a fountain. Second, do you really think that I was really going to throw myself into the water after the 'shower' of yesterday?"

The black hedgehog stood up and briefly shook water and algas away from his body "Anyway, where are we?" He asked looking around for clues and not bothered by the various gazes given by the people that were now just standing there wondering what two hedgehogs, one of them also worldwide famous, were doing into a public fountain.

Sonic stood up and shook too "Somewhere in the center of the capital…" He said walking to the edge and looking for something. The other hedgehog followed him "What are you looking for?" He asked cocking an eyebrow. The blue hero stopped and pointed a sign; it was an arrow with a chao face and the '_Chao Garden_' writing on it "That."

The two hedgehogs jumped out of the water "If we go at a cruising pace it'll be five minutes or so." Sonic informed the other. Shadow moved an ear; there was something out there that was watching them intently, and it wasn't one of the staring people. He casually walked next to his double and crossed his arms "Can you feel it?" He simply asked hoping that he could understand.

Sonic put his hands on hips and leaned his weight on his left leg "Yeah… and I think that I know who it is…" He responded not looking away from the street. The black hedgehog hinted a smile; it was so strange… A day or so ago the two of them would have killed each other, at least from his part, and now here he was; side-by-side with his former enemy and with a perfect understanding. Not to mention that this understanding between them just popped up right before they used the emeralds…

The hedgehogs looked at each other and nodded; it was best to pretend to not have noticed the observer. Sonic grinned and motioned the road with his eyes; Shadow's eyes flared up in a challenging way. A little race was of obligation; just to lose whatever was observing them, and just for the fun of it.

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Eggman watched the screen with interest "So he's still alive, uh? Humph! It doesn't matter! If I locate where the '_CT-Project_' is situated, neither Sonic nor Shadow can stop me! Not even if they team up and go super. I'll be invincible! Hooo ho ho ho ho!" The man stopped gloating and looked at a red button on the console "But they say that it's better anticipate than treat…"

The doctor pressed the switch and cleared his throat "Metal Sonic! Metal Shadow! Meet me immediately in the control room." He commanded in the intercom. After he released the button he turned around and walked to another console; there was a different text file showed on the screen. The man sat on the chair and read for the fifth time what little he could, since most of it was computer gibberish and it couldn't be restored due to the ruined file.

"The ex… out …ssful… …growing… …e…gy readings… … … … …con…able… … … …every aspect… … … maybe… … … … … … Maria's… …"

Eggman sighed again; if only the file regarding that particular project wasn't crippled he could exactly understand what he was going to find. The prospect of another incident like the one involving that mad lizard was too creepy even for him, but reading the words that his grandfather wrote it seemed that this was just an armless project for his cousin's sake.

The door of the control room hissed open and two almost identical robots stepped to Eggman's side; the only difference was their color, like their originals. The doctor stopped staring at the computer and turned around to face them 'I know that they are strong and can beat my powerful robots quite easily, but they are living beings… and if I can keep them under continual fights they'll get weaker… and sooner or later they'll just fall…'

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It would have been a peaceful day like any other if it wasn't for the fact that two chao were squabbling animatedly over who knows what; the two stopped for a brief moment to take some breath before they resumed what they were doing. The loud yells emitted by the two could have been heard even from someone standing outside the door.

An azure chao peeked through the leafs of the ferns adorning the cascade; she seemed interested by the behavior of those two chao. Differently from the others, who were calm and collected, they were lively and always messing up with something; in that particular moment they were just breaking the peaceful silence of the mid-morning nap…

A red chao, symbol of strength, stood up and walked next to them; he raised his two paws and divided them. No 'words' were spoken from then on, and the two litigants stopped; there was no way that they were going against a red chao. They could outrun him fairly well, but he was too close to do that; a hint of escape and he would just grab them.

The two sighed and sat on the ground a little bothered by the fact that their 'fight' was interrupted before a winner was found; not that it mattered… they always ended on a draw…

Iris watched the two as they yawned and walked away from the others to take a nap; the two stopped near the rocky wall next to the waterfall and lay down. A minute later they were sleeping soundly; in the distance she could see the red chao being cheered by the other for having ended the disturbance.

After the celebration ended and all the chao went back to what they were doing, Iris slowly crept out from her hide and slowly made her way to those two unusual chao; they were peacefully sleeping and they had a content smile on their faces.

Her 'inspection' of the two was abruptly interrupted by two distant voices; she looked up and saw two hedgehogs, one black and red and the other blue and peach, calmly walk towards her position. Her eyes became large with fright and she quickly ran into her previous hide, covering herself with the leaves so they wouldn't be able to see her; from there she watched what the two were doing.

The blue one looked up at the fake sky and sighed "Luckily we managed to lose that robo-spy…" He said to the other "Yes, but why the doctor started to spy?" The ebony one asked briefly glancing back at the entrance. Sonic shrugged "Who knows… but I bet that it has to do with something that was into that CD that Tails told us about…"

Shadow kneeled next to his chao and lightly scratched his belly "Here you are, Lucifer." He said with a soft tone of voice that was hard to believe it was his. He carefully picked him up and watched him sleep like nothing had happened; usually when a chao was lift he would wake up, but he just continued sleeping. The blue hedgehog sat next to his own "I'd like to know who moved him here…"

The black hedgehog put his chao back on the ground "Before you say it, I didn't. Besides, my chao was in the dark garden, not here…" He said sitting next to his doppelganger. Sonic chuckled "Maybe he didn't like it… and he moved here, like Michael did." He responded shrugging.

Shadow looked at him a little confused "They told me that chao can't move alone." He stated remembering the first day he came here. He was fleeing from the military and he just stumbled onto this place; he took repair into the neutral garden and in his little stroll he found an egg. Wondering of what animal was, he lightly poked it and some seconds later he found himself with something in his hands; he knew what it was only after the passing attendant told him to read the board in the hall.

Since the military search for him was still high into the city, he had to wait for hours before he could leave; in that meantime he found himself cuddling up in a corner, watching that same creature crawl around making infant's noises. That innocence instantly remembered him of Maria, and he couldn't hold back tears of sorrow and pain for the loss; surprisingly he found himself raising that strange creature and ended up with what was called a Dark Chao.

Shadow's remembering was interrupted as Sonic let himself fall on the green grass on his back "Chao perfectly reflect your true personality. No matter how much you try to hide it… a chao discover it and grows like the real you." He paused and closed his eyes "You're not evil, Shadow. You were just clouded by all the sadness you were feeling over the loss of Maria…"

The black hedgehog didn't answer or tried to do it; Sonic had perfectly hit the spot. He was clouded back then, and he regretted it; for his fault the Earth was nearly sent into pieces "You stupid hedgehog, did you really had to bring that back?" He muttered managing to hide his anguished voice over the whole fact, and hiding his almost tear-signed face from the other hedgehog.

Sonic sat up "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that back…" He apologized not looking at him "Besides, what I wanted to say is: if our chao reflect our true personality, they felt the need to come here for something. Your chao surely didn't like the garden you have put him in and came here to seek a better place, and mine… well… I really dunno…" He concluded shrugging, but deep in his heart he knew very well what it was, and his chao seemed to have found it.

Shadow sighed and stood up "We better get going… your friend said to be back in a hour, and considering that you took the sightseeing tour of the city just to lose our metal 'friend', the time at our disposal has ended." He said looking down at the blue hedgehog.

Sonic sighed and shook his head "Wake up, Shadow! He's your friend too! He's just shy when it comes with new people, but he's a really good hearted boy, and knowing him… he already consider you a friend." He explained standing up and stretching a little "Besides, if he was contrary to the idea of having you in his house, he would have taken me apart and told me straight away."

The black hedgehog diverted his eyes away from his double's; it was the first time that he couldn't endure that confident stare "You seems to know him pretty well…" He commented wondering if he could find someone that could be like what Tails was to Sonic. He heard the blue hedgehog chuckle "Yes, and yes." He said handing him the red emerald.

Shadow looked in the gem deep in thinking; it was faintly reflecting his image and he looked right into his eyes. He was wondering why the blue hedgehog had confirmed his statement two times; it was like he had read his wondering right in his mind and answered it. Suddenly he snapped out of it and looked at his double "Why are you handing me the emerald?"

Sonic scratched his head behind his ear with his free hand "Well… umm… I hate to admit it, but I have this sensation that if I use Chaos Control I'll end us teleporting right in the near lake… and sincerely, I don't plan to take another wash."

The ebony hedgehog took the emerald from his doppelganger's hand "You sure are strange, Sonic. _You_ actually admitted, _in front of me_, that you're not good in the landing process of Chaos Control…" He said returning to his normal self and forgetting the sorrow that he felt a minute ago.

The hero's left eye twitched in an angry manner "I didn't say that!" He quickly remarked. Shadow smiled mischievously; he found himself loving the fact that he had admitted that, but not because he wanted to be superior, but for something deeper. He couldn't describe it; it was like he had received a praise after a long and hard work, and he purely liked it.

Unknown to him, he smiled a little "Whatever, blue hedgehog… whatever…" He said not breaking his first sincere smile after that tremendous incident happened fifty years ago. His smile faded away as he realized something "Umm… Sonic?" He asked breaking his moment of triumph.

The blue hedgehog crossed his arms "What?" He asked sighing at the fact that he had just lost an argument with his rival. Shadow looked at him and handed him the emerald "I still don't know where your friend's house is…" He finally admitted, ashamed that he had ruined him moment of glory.

Sonic quickly sighed heavily "So we have to risk another bath?" He asked to his doppelganger. The prospect of a dive in the cold water of the lake near Tails' place was making him want to just run there, but the fact that the fox was expecting him and Shadow in that precise moment was something that made the run an option out of reach.

The two stood there in silence for some seconds before Shadow's eyes lit up "We could try to cooperate." He said looking at Sonic's slightly downed head. The blue hedgehog raised it and looked in his ruby eyes; a grin grazed his lips. He had perfectly understood his idea; he would think at the place where they needed to go and teleport, and Shadow would help him with his better control over the technique.

Shadow held up the red Chaos Emerald and watched as his blue double put his hand on it; it was different than the last time at ARK, but hopefully they could pull it off without errors. The hedgehogs concentrated for some seconds, and when they felt that everything was green, they spoke the two word-named technique in perfect unison; the white-red light of the Chaos Control engulfed them and took them away from the garden.

When everything went back to normal, Iris put her head out of her hiding place and looked around; when she felt that nothing was coming, she slowly walked near the two sleeping chao and sat down, resuming her study.

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A red echidna slowly made his way to the workshop's door and knocked; a faint reply came to his ears and some seconds later the piece of solid wood was swung open by the two-tailed owner "Hi Knuckles!" He cheerfully greeted him.

Knuckles smiled and waved his response to the verbal greeting; he entered the building as the fox motioned him "So, tell me again what happened to make you so agitated…" He said walking up the stairs followed by the young vulpine; as he reached the end of it, his eyes widened a little. He had seen a too familiar pair of wings and white ears sitting near familiar pink quills.

Tails walked past him and went to the little kitchen "Take a seat Knuckles, I'll explain everything I know in a few seconds!" He exclaimed taking a bottle of water and some food. As the fox spoke his name, that too familiar pair of wings and white ears swiftly turned around "Hello." She said in a charming way. The echidna gulped and slowly walked to sit on the bench at her right; Amy had to move left to make room for him while she whined at the fact that she was keeping the seat for a certain blue hedgehog.

The young fox put everything he had in hand on the table "Feel free to take what you want." He said smiling and sitting in front of Rouge, who eagerly took a biscuit. The fox smiled, but his mind went back to the two hedgehogs that were still out; he was preoccupied over the fact that they were late.

Tails blinked and briefly looked at his three friends, then took a deep breath and prepared his throat "Ok, this is what I know. Before we embarked for Earth, I saw Eggman pick up a CD, and he's now in motion. But this is not all! Yesterday night, I come home to find that Sonic was walking towards me. The shocking fact was that he was followed by Shadow! And they both were covered in cuts, water and mud." He stopped and looked at the other three's expression.

Amy had a wide-eyed reaction and was just gaping at what she just heard about Sonic, Shadow and cuts. Rouge was a little less shocked, but the fact to hear that the black hedgehog had just some cuts after that fall was enough to make her stare in wonder. Knuckles was more preoccupied than shocked; he knew that the blue hedgehog was hard to injure, and if he was covered in cuts, he had surely fought something hellish.

Rouge was the first between her and Amy to recover from the shock "Do you know why they were so messed up?" She asked looking at the young fox in front of her. Tails sighed deeply and prepared for the worst "What Shadow told me made me _white_…" He started not taking away his eyes from the three "He said that they fought again the BioLizard."

This time even Knuckles was shocked beyond belief; he saw the lizard in person, and he felt that annoying sensation that told you to just run away as fast as possible. Back then he wondered how Sonic and Shadow were able to stand her so well, and sometime he still was.

Amy just stared again, more shocked than before; she heard Rouge talk about it during the last fight, and she shuddered just hearing about it.

Rouge was shocked and gaping something like it wasn't possible that the mad beast had survived after the combined heavy blows of the two hedgehogs full powered up by emeralds. This was indeed a bad news; a really, really bad news. She had seen what the lizard could do in space, and she didn't dare to think what she could do while on Earth; the path of broken trees that she saw on the TV was probably made by her passage.

The whole shocked moment was suddenly broken by a white-red light that appeared right in front of the stairs; the fours had to shield their eyes until it dissipated. When they resumed looking at the point, they just saw a blue hedgehog wave frantically his arms and then fall down the stairs, taking with him a black hedgehog.

From their point of view it all happened in slow motion; the combination had succeeded, but the fact that it was the first try made them appear right on the brink of the first step. Sonic was the first to lose balance, and he waved frantically his arms to regain it or to grab something to prevent his falling; in doing so he got into Shadow's forearms, grabbing them and taking him down the stairs with himself. The whole thing happened so fast that they didn't have the time to curl up and safely roll down; the world turned 360° in a matter of a second and they felt every single step hit their body.

When the fall ended, Sonic found himself on top of Shadow's back quills; he had the black hedgehog's right arm over his left one, which was just stretching forwards, and his head. The blue hedgehog moved slightly and found out that he had his right arm under the other's belly and over his left arm, and that his right leg was under his left one; his left leg, instead, was trapped between Shadow's left arm and torso. In both their minds the question of how the hell they ended up like that popped up as soon as they realized it.

From their point of view, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge and Amy just heard a rumble and some screams; when all ended they abruptly stood up and dashed to the stairs. Looking down the fox, the bat and the echidna started snickering; Amy just widened her eyes in fear that her hero had gotten hurt in the fall; she rushed down the stairs and kneeled in front of Sonic.

The blue hedgehog looked at her, but didn't move; if he did it, he would hurt himself and Shadow "Hi Amy." He said trying to not shift in his position "Are you alright Sonic? Are you hurt? Do you want a hand?" She asked being very concerned about his welfare. Sonic looked up and hinted a smile "Thanks Amy, but we can manage…" He said resting his head on the wooden ground.

Suddenly there was a flash that surprised the two; Sonic looked up and saw Tails with a camera in his hands "Sorry, guys. But I had to take a picture." He said apologizing with a smile. Knuckles, that was at his side, was trying hard to not burst into laughs; Rouge had just a wide smile on her face.

Sonic sighed miserably as he saw the vulpine ran away to hide the camera; he turned his eyes at the black hedgehog. His head was turned the other way so he could just see his quills "Are you ok?" He asked seeing that he didn't move.

Shadow turned his head to look at his lookalike "_My_ arm is being crushed by _your_ weight…" He accused keeping his cool. The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes "Oh yeah… and _your_ quills are drilling right into _my_ chest, so shut up and start taking your right arm from over me."

It took them more than a minute of careful navigation to disentangle, but in the end they were free. They were now sitting on the ground massaging the parts of their bodies that were hurting; the other four stood in front of them waiting patiently for an explanation over the whole thing.

Rouge uncrossed her arms and looked at the black hedgehog "It's good to see you alive, Shadow." She said reaching into her pocket and taking out a golden bracelet. She handed it to him and he took it hinting a smile "Thanks." He whispered loud enough to be heard only by the bat, but looking at the little grin on his blue doppelganger's face it seemed that he had managed to pick it up.

Shadow's hinted smiled didn't fade away at that; his double had a sharp hearing, right like him. The ebony one sighed and shook his head, still with that little smile on his lips; might as well drop that 'I'm the better' attitude. Not matter how much he searched for something that he was better at than Sonic; he always ended finding out that he had it too.

Sonic's grin transformed into a smile; he understood what the black hedgehog had thought. Finally they were going with the right foot; they would be good friends and sometimes rivals, but now he finally had someone that would truly be able to keep up with him. Sure, Tails was able to keep up fairly well, but Shadow was the one that he always dreamed about; someone that was like him in every aspect.

The fox broke the silence by stepping onwards a little "So… hum… what happened?" He asked referring to all the events that happened right after the ARK incident. He longed for an explanation since yesterday night, when he saw the two hedgehogs slowly walk to him so messed up and tired enough to fall asleep right were they were.

Sonic's smile became a little sad and then faded away; everyone noticed that his black counterpart had the same reaction "After we landed, I ran away because of him." And he motioned Shadow with his head "I knew that he had survived teleporting himself back to Earth. When I found him, we were attacked by the BioLizard. How she survived is a mystery."

"Maybe she took advantage of our Chaos Control too to save herself, and come here…" The black hedgehog chimed in with a shrug "Who knows…" He then faced Sonic "But the real mystery to me is how you knew that I was in that forest and not somewhere else. When you showed up you seemed to know for sure that you were going to find me there… not to mention that you knew that the mad lizard was there too…"

Sonic just shrugged nonchalantly "My sixth sense?" He responded asking. Seeing that the others gave him only a blank stare he sighed preparing for a better explanation, but a distant purring sound caught his, Shadow's and Rouge's ears.

The black hedgehog stood up, followed soon by his counterpart; he had a bad feeling about this "Problems are on the way…" He muttered concentrating on the sound. After some seconds of silence he ran outside and found that Sonic was at his side the whole time.

The two looked up and towards the sea; surely it was something artificial…

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What do you think about the new version of this chapter? Better or worse than the previous?

Az


	4. The Calm Before the Storm

N'deru n'derò my friends, here's the Title 17…  
Sonic & Co are copyright of Sega; Metal Shadow is mine.

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Quote of the day moment:

"Isn't that Sonic?"

My mom looking at Shadow

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See ya at the end of the chapter!

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CHAPTER FOUR

The Calm Before The Storm

"Uh? What's this noise?" Rouge asked moving her ears "I don't hear anything. But looking at those two, something is wrong." Knuckles responded pointing the two hedgehogs. Tails listened carefully "This noise is familiar… like a… like a jet engine… … a jet engine?" He looked at Amy "AMY! COME BACK HERE!" He yelled "Why?" The pink hedgehog asked confused "Just come here, immediately!" "Amy… it's better if you do what Tails told you…" Sonic said bristling his quills; the tone of his voice was serious, something that she didn't hear very often. She nodded and ran toward the stairs.  
The soft noise increased in intensity "Now I can hear it, and I don't like it." Knuckles said annoyed "Then, what is it?" The white bat asked looking around for clues. In that moment a blue robot appeared from behind the cliff; Amy stopped beside Tails "Metal Sonic?" She asked disbelieved "Metal who?" Rouge asked looking at her "Metal Sonic, one of the most powerful robot that Eggman built; it's even the most durable." The fox explained.

"Ok, travelling tin can, what do you want?" Sonic asked crossing his arms "Main objective: kill Sonic the Hedgehog." Metal Sonic said monotonously "I'm honoured…" "Sonic, do you want a hand?" Shadow asked looking at him and pointing the index finger toward the robot "No… It's not necessary." The blue hedgehog responded waving a hand.  
The robot landed few feet away from his original and took an attack position "Well, you asked for it!" Sonic exclaimed preparing for the imminent battle.  
He was ready for the first attack when something behind his shoulders attracted his attention; from the other side of the hill another robot appeared firing an homing missile. "Uh-oh…" He said before the missile hit the ground; he was able to dodge it but the shock wave hurled him on the wall of the other hill "AH!" He exclaimed before falling on the ground. Sonic raised and massaged his left arm "Is that so? THEN BRING IT ON!" He yelled angrily.

"Sonic, I will take care of the other robot." Shadow said walking toward the other enemy. The machine landed and, like its companion, took an attack position "Who are you?" The black hedgehog asked stretching his arms "This is a unit destined to the battle; code-name: Metal Shadow." The robot responded flatly "How explicit…" Shadow said jumping; he performed an homing attack but he wasn't able to hit his adversary because something hit him from behind "What the…!" He exclaimed landing on his back; he looked at his right and saw Sonic raising from the ground "That's it! You're scrap metal!" The blue hedgehog said jumping into the air; he started to perform the homing attack without stopping.

The robot was in difficulty and to escape from the mad hedgehog it started flying over the sea. Sonic was so angry toward his metal double that he didn't noticed what the other robot was doing. A missile went off from its forearm; Shadow wasn't able to stop it in time "SONIC! ON THE GROUND!" He yelled. Sonic throw himself on the ground without looking around; the missile instead of hitting its original target hit Metal Sonic.

After the collision the robot was visibly ruined; the right arm lay on the ground near the stairs and the right eye was broken. The other machine flied beside its comrade; they looked like they were ready for another attack but instead they turned heels and flew away; in the same direction from they came.

Shadow raised and massaged his back "Eggman is definitively up to something…" "Yeah, and this is not good…" Sonic said sitting up "Sonic! You ok?" Amy asked hugging his hero at the neck "Yeah, ok… but… can you let me go? The arm hurts…" He said "Oh… sorry…"

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Sonic seated on the bench "Ok… it's better if I start from the beginning. Yesterday I meet with Shadow in the forest and we fought against the BioLizard; we managed to stop her but it's only for the moment, I think that she will return soon." "Sonic, how did you know that Shadow and the BioLizard were still alive?" Knuckles asked curiously "I'm curious to hear what Sonic will say…" Shadow muttered looking at the other hedgehog.  
The blue hedgehog hummed "Exactly I don't know; when we got on board of the shuttle I saw the Earth, in that moment I felt strange…" He responded scratching his head. The other three looked at him perplexed.  
Shadow sipped a cup of tea "That's not an answer…" He said laying the cup on the table "Well, then how did you know that she was still alive?" Sonic asked crossing his arms "Remember that I'm the Ultimate Life Form created by Professor Gerald." "That's not an answer." Sonic said looking at him "That's a good answer!" "No!" "Yes!" The two started gazing to each other in the eyes "Guys! Please!" Amy meddled stopping the incoming quarrel "Anyway, Shadow, how did you survived to the fall?" Rouge asked "I still had some Chaos Energy left into my body so when I was falling into unconsciousness I involuntarily used Chaos Control, ending in the forest." "But, Sonic, why didn't you helped him?" Amy asked taking a biscuit from the tray "I tried, but he disappeared before I reached him, leaving only the bracelet." He responded shrugging "Right! The bracelet!" Rouge exclaimed searching into her handbag "Where's… ha! Here!" From the bag she extracted a bracelet "This is your." She said handing it to Shadow "Thanks." He said taking it and wearing it again "Wow, Shadow! You changed a lot in these two days!" The bat noticed "You think so?" He asked perplexed.  
Sonic took a biscuit "Anyway, we must find out what Eggman has in mind." "But what do we know?" Amy asked "Well I saw him took something away from the ARK. A CD, I think." Tails responded "And me and Sonic saw some spy-robot in the capital." The black hedgehog stated "And a large zone of the forest is razed to the ground…" Rouge finished "Rouge… that's the result of our battle against the BioLizard…" Sonic corrected her "Wow! She managed to make a disaster!" "Yeah… and it's a miracle if we're still alive…" He muttered raising from the table "Sonic where are you going?" The pink hedgehog asked "Around, maybe I can find something… you know; it's the troubles that come to me, not the opposite." "Now I know why Eggman hate you so much…" Shadow commented "Well, good for him…" The blue hedgehog said shrugging; he opened the door and walked outside. "Well, I think that I'll search the government archives… maybe there I can find something…" Rouge said standing up; Knuckles did the same "If Eggman is really up to something then I must go back to Angel Island and protect the Master Emerald." He said.

The two of them walked out of the house "So… you're returning on your island?" The bat asked looking at the train that in that moment arrived at the station "Yes…" He responded "Alone?" "Yes, why?" "Nothing, only that the persons can't bear solitude, to live happily they need company…" "Maybe you're right, before I knew Sonic and Tails, I lived all my life in solitude, always thinking to protect the Master Emerald… I still remember the first time we meet; we were enemies 'cause Eggman tricked me. But now I feel good 'cause I know that I have friends…" Rouge smiled "If you need a hand you have my number." She said looking at him "Ok…" He responded walking away 'Or he's really shy or he don't care… or he didn't noticed it…' She thought.

"Rouge?" A voice asked; she turned around "Oh, Shadow… what is it?" "Can you help me?" "Sure!" She responded brightly "You said that you're going to the government archives, right?" "Yes, why?" "Can you find me everything that happened on the ARK before it was shut down?" "Do you think that Eggman is searching for another project of his grandfather?" "Maybe," He shrugged "I don't know. I ask you this because last night I made a strange dream that maybe has something to do with my past…" "Can you tell me what you dreamed? It will be easier for me… if you want."  
Shadow thought for some moments then he turned toward the sea "Well, I was still young and I was sure that somebody survived at an explosion, taking away six of the seven emeralds…" He paused and sighed "I can't remember anything else… I'm so frustrated…" "Don't worry, I'll search anything that will help you remember…" "Thanks." He said facing her, she waved good bye and ran toward the station.

The black hedgehog looked again at the sea 'Why I can't remember?' He thought closing his eyes; the lightly breeze that was blowing from east make him feel good "Shadow?" "Uh?" He asked snapping out of his thoughts; he turned around "Who… Oh, it's you… Amy, right?" "Yes." She said smiling. He turned again "What can I do for you?" He asked looking at the water "Nothing, I saw you here so I came to talk." She paused and sat on the stairs "Shadow, you seem so lonely. Can I help you?" "No… I think not…" And he walked down the stairs "Shadow! Wait!" "What?" He asked turning his head "If you have nothing to do I can read you the tarots!" She said holding her tarot cards.

Shadow looked perplexed "Well, I accept…" He said sitting beside her. She started shuffling the cards and after some second she put down the first "You're trying to remember your past…" She paused and extracted another card "But the more you try, the more it will be harder for you to remember…" She said shuffling again the pack. She stopped and put two cards on top of the others "Actually, Shadow, you feel lonely. Right?" Shadow looked at the cards on the ground; Amy sighed "Don't worry, now you have friends!" "Did you read it on the cards?" He asked looking at her; she shook her head "No…" She said "I didn't read it on the cards, I know it because I'm one of them." She smiled "Then there's Sonic and the others." "But, how do you know that they're my friends too?" "I'll answer you with a question: Why are you still here?" "It's for the promise I made to Maria." "What promise?" "That I'll make the people of this planet happy. That's why I'm helping you." "Are you sure that is only for that?" "What do you mean?" "I think that Maria wished your happiness too…" "You think so?" "Ha-ha." She said nodding.  
She was ready to put the next card on the ground when a gust of wind made the others fly "AH! MY CARDS!" She exclaimed putting her hands upon them. When the gust passed she uncovered the cards; their original position was ruined "Awww!" She exclaimed throwing the card that she was holding on the ground "Uh? What's this?" She asked to herself watching the new formation of the cards "What they say?" Shadow asked curiously.  
Her face was filled with fear "Someone will be killed by cold hands!" "What!?!" The black hedgehog exclaimed incredulous "Cold hands… who's the one that has cold hands?" Amy picked again the tarots and extracted three cards consecutively; she placed them beside the others "It will happen when the moon will kiss the sun on the cheek…" She paused and looked at the sky "… an eclipse." She murmured looking again at the cards 'Why the cards are telling me this?' She closed her eyes trying to make out the meaning of those terrifying words.

"Amy…" A distant voice called; it was so distant that it was barely audible "Amy…" It called again. She tried to respond but she was feeling too weak "Amy… you ok?" It asked. Though she was feeling very weak she found the strength to open her eyes.  
What she saw was a shadowy figure against the sky "Sonic? No… you're not Sonic… you're… Shadow." She found herself lying on the ground "What happened?" She asked rubbing her eyes "You were reading the cards when you fell unconscious right upon them." "The cards…" She murmured looking again at Shadow; suddenly her eyes opened wide "SONIC!" She exclaimed standing up abruptly "Whoa!" The black hedgehog exclaimed falling backwards. Amy picked up the cards and ran dizzily towards Tails' workshop.

Tails was peacefully servicing the first Tornado; though its red paint was a little ruined here and there it was ready for a flight 'Lucky that some time ago a group of sub found the wrecked plane near the Station Square's coast.' He thought tinkering with the engine. Suddenly the door of his workshop opened abruptly "TAILS!" The pink hedgehog yelled urgently.  
The fox dropped the wrench with a yelp of fear mixed with surprise; he turned around "Amy! Is this the mode to call someone? You scared me!" "Sorry but we don't have time for this now!" "Uh? What happened?" "Tails, Sonic is in danger!" "Ehhh? You sure?" He asked lightly confused "Yes! I was reading the cards to Shadow when a gust of wind messed up the original configuration making me predict this! Shadow, you can confirm it. Right?" She asked at the black hedgehog.  
The only response from him was a nod; he was too confused to say something. That episode managed to give him the shivers; something that he never experienced "Can you tell me the original words?" The fox asked jumping down from the ladder that was leaning on the plane. Amy thought of the words and shivered on doing that; she wanted to forget them but she forced herself to remember them clearly, it was for Sonic, and only for him "The first phrase was like this: 'Someone will be killed by cold hands.' And the other was 'It will happen when the moon will kiss the sun on the cheek.' Then I fell unconscious." "But, how do you know that it's Sonic the one of your prediction?" "I don't know how, but I'm sure of that!" She paused and took a long breath "Listen Tails, on the next eclipse Sonic will die!" "If that's so then we must hurry, I read in the newspaper that the next eclipse will be today at 14.25." The fox stated; he looked at the clock on the wall "That's mean that we have less than three hours to find him. The only problem is… where did he go to?"  
"I think he went to the capital." Shadow suggested "Are you sure?" Amy asked looking hopefully at him "Well, it's there that we saw that robot." "Can you reach him?" She asked more hopefully than before "Sorry… I don't know where the city is… besides I don't have any emerald…" He answered. Amy felt her heart hurt, like it was pierced with a knife; she wanted to cry but something held her tears back: it was hope. 'There's still three hours left.' She thought.

Tails grinned widely and turned toward the red plane "We can use the Tornado!" "Tails… you can't land on the streets of the capital…" Amy stated "I know… that's why Shadow will come with me…" "Uh?" The black hedgehog asked more confused than before.

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Wow, it's done! I think that this is the longest chapter I wrote so far…

Mmm…Considering that the plot is becoming a real tricky situation (at least for me…) I'll try to give you a little preview.  
I think that Sonic will finally find out what Eggman has in mind (maybe… not sure… need to think… mumble… mumble…).  
And the chao? Don't worry, I have something in mind for 'em; just wait the next chapter… BWA HA HA HA!!!

The title? Maybe will be 'From the Frying Pan to the Fire'

Az


	5. From the Frying Pan to the Fire…

Hello! Here we are with the copyright!  
Sonic and co. are of Sega.  
Johnson Kaler is mine

**Author's Note**: YAHHO!!! I've finally kicked away that bad case of writer's block! I'm so happy.  
(actually for you it seems a week or so, but for me it was at least ten months long)

PLEASE! REVIEW!

PS: Don't look at the errors! I am a better writer with English than with my own language; the Italian! (Strange, uh?)  
That's mean that I don't see 'em and MSWord can't find 'em!

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Month's quote:

"Question of 1.000.000 €: How do you think to be able to get out of this mess? Let me know."

KriKo after reading the 4th chapter

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CHAPTER FIVE

From the Frying Pan to the Fire…

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Shadow was feeling a little uneasy; he had never traveled on a plane, let alone on the tail of said machine 'I'd like to know how Sonic can travel like this… as soon I get to him, I'll ask him…' He thought holding tightly the tail of the red biplane "Shadow! We're in the capital! Look for Sonic!" Tails exclaimed seeing the city below "OK!" He responded. He looked down; the streets were passing fast under his eyes and everything was quite. "Come on, Sonic! Show yourself!" The fox pleaded.

In the same instant an explosion attired the two; Tails turned toward it. When they where nearly there Shadow saw a blue spot running zigzag through the traffic; behind him other two spot gave chase. The black hedgehog jumped down from the plane.

Sonic was having problems; he was able to keep off Metal Sonic, but two were too much even for him 'This is going to be interesting.' He thought sarcastically missing a missile that hit the road ahead. Sonic stopped abruptly on the edge of the hole caused by the missile's impact and turned around "If I keep running they will destroy the entire city to kill me… but how I can destroy two Metals contemporaneously?" He asked to himself watching the two robots landing in front of him and prepared himself for the worst battle of his life.

Suddenly something black landed beside him; it was Shadow "Need a hand?" He asked raising from the kneeling position. Sonic smiled "You take your Metal, I will take mine." The blue hedgehog said looking at the two robots "With pleasure!" He responded charging his metal double; the black hedgehog jumped in the air and hit the robot. Metal Shadow was thrown several feet backwards and soon the other robot followed. "Sonic! You're in danger!" Shadow exclaimed turning toward his friend "No time to talk, Shadow! Metals are coming!" He responded crouching "But…" He started but Sonic dashed forward, toward his enemy; he jumped and gave a kick to Metal Sonic's head. The robot was thrown again backwards, hitting a wall. It raised, a few scratches here and there covered its shining metal body; it moved its forearm and fired. Sonic dodged the laser that marked the street; the blue hedgehog looked at the robot "You stupid robot! Are you going to destroy the entire city just to kill me?" He asked angrily. He started walking toward Metal Sonic; the more he neared it the more the walking was becoming a run; meanwhile the sun eclipse was starting. Shadow looked up "No… please… not now…" He said squeezing his eyes.

------------

In another place, which looked like the shrine of the Master Emerald, the space was forcefully distorted. A low growl filled the big room, it sounded pleased.

------------

Iris looked at the two chao with interest; nobody had made such an effort to know her. At first she was frightened by the behavior of the two, but after a few minutes of watching, she was starting to get interested by this.

She looked around and saw that the other chao were relieved that the only hero and dark chao in the garden were sleeping and understood that the two were two very competitive fellows. The little azure chao was starting to fell asleep when something attracted her attention.

It was on the very edge of the cliff and was shining brightly; she walked over it and picked it up. It was a big yellow diamond shaped gem. She thought that she knew this gem, but for some reasons she couldn't tell what was or what was for.

Iris was starting to go back with the gem in tow, but it suddenly came; a big silvery robot that took her and the gem. She cried in alarm and in pain because of the powerful grasp and startled the entire garden.

Lucifer and Michael woke up with a start and looked where the source of the cry was, and they saw it starting to leave; something metallic with a big G on it's torso. They made up their mind and grabbed the leg of the robot. Unaware of its unusual cargo, it left the garden and flew away. In it's mind only an order: bring back a Chaos Emerald.

In the mean time on Angel Island something into the water stirred, in his heart he had heard her cry. Whoever had hurt one of the chao, he would be sure to make him pay dearly.

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Eggman entered in a room, out of the big window a blue planet.

"So this is my grandfather main experimental room…" He said walking to two stasis tubes at the end of the room. They were going into the ceiling and they were almost four foot wide. Dust covered the green transparent glass. From the top a dozen of thin wires were coming out and hung lifelessly in the empty capsules.

On the glass, at human height were fixed two metal plate; Eggman took a cloth that was laying on a nearby chair and cleaned the two plate. Embed on them, in capital letter, there were two acronyms.

"'S-01' and 'S-02?'" Asked the doctor to himself "Maybe the 'S' is standing for 'Subject' or 'Sample'" he concluded.

------------

"But, sir…" Said a man; he was short and thin, and his eyes and hairs where a deep brown. In a little metallic plate, clipped on his uniform, was engraved 'Serg. Johnson Kaler'.

"I do not care!" The other interlocutor exclaimed with his strong voice. He was a man in his forty-five years and he was looking out of the windows "Just do it!" 

The sergeant sighed, he didn't liked the order, but he couldn't do otherwise: it was an order from his superior, the boss of the military section knows as G.U.N. "Very well sir," He said "I shall send the second section of the special army."

The man behind the desk just nodded in satisfaction, the other saluted and left the room.

"Everything must stay secret. Even that event; and nobody must know about it. Not even if a hero is involved." He smiled 'And soon I'll leave this place in the middle of nowhere!' He thought turning around and sitting on the chair. On the desk was a sign with the words 'General Alan Decò'.

------------

Amy was pacing back and forth outside Tails' workshop 'I really hope that Tails and Shadow reached him before the eclipse.'

She stopped and looked up, a dot was moving in the sky; Tails was returning from the capital. The pink hedgehog waited for him to land the Tornado.

Tails landed the plane and saw Amy almost flaying to him "Tails! How is it gone?" She asked clapping together the hands "Well," He said "We were able to find Sonic. He was chased by two Metals; Shadow jumped down to help him. After a while they moved to the outskirts of the city and I lost them."

Amy looked down and sighed "Don't worry Amy, there's Shadow with him! Together they can handle almost everything!" The twin tailed fox exclaimed. The hedgehog looked up "I hope you're right."

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The fight between Sonic, Shadow and their metal double was quite hard; the only thing that they had managed to do was move the fight from the center to the outskirts of the city.

"It's me or they are playing with us?" Asked Shadow looking out of a nearly collapsing building "It's not you pal, they ALWAYS play. Last time that Metal Sonic got serious he nearly killed me…" Sonic said remembering the fight on Sky Sanctuary; he was nearly throw off of the platform.

Metal Sonic was the only robot that the blue hedgehog fought with all of his strength. "I thought that Eggman's robot were poorly made…" Shadow said breaking the other's line of thought. Sonic sighed "Yes, but he build some by himself. These two traveling tin can are an example how Eggman can be a thorn in the side." "Anyway… why do you call him 'Eggman'? His name is 'Robotnik' and something else." "Well… he's shaped like an egg and he like to name his best robots after the egg. Like the Egg Viper, the Egg Walker and the Egg Golem." Sonic explained "And he's starting to like the nick."

Shadow shook his head; thinking about all these egg was starting to distract him from the main task: how to beat the two robots and save Sonic from being killed by this supposed guy with cold hands. What it means he didn't know, maybe it was something made of cold material like ice or metal.

When he thought about metal his mind screamed the same word again and again. He looked out and to his surprise the eclipse was entirely done 'Maybe Amy was wrong, but it's better to not let the guard down.'

Sonic saw him assorted and waved a hand in front of his eyes "Shadow, you ok?" He asked concerned. The black hedgehog blinked "Uh? Oh, I was thinking about the prediction that Amy made." "Prediction?" "Yes, she said that you would be killed by cold hands when the eclipse started; but the eclipse is already done." "Maybe she just had a dream on the spot, who knows." "Sonic, she was in a total panic! She gave me the creeps." Shadow said looking straight in the eyes of the blue hedgehog. Sonic looked back and for an instance he thought that he experienced a deja-vu. He shook the feeling off when he heard the typical noise of a jet engine; he looked out of the building "I'm starting to get annoyed by them…" "Me too." Shadow agreed then a plan formed in his mind "Sonic, give me the emerald; I'm gonna use Chaos Spear to get rid of one of the two, then we will be able to overpower the other." He explained demanding the emerald with the hand.

The only response from the other hedgehog was an embarrassed 'ahem'. Shadow looked at him "Don't tell me that…" "…I've lost the emerald before you showed up." Sonic finished for him. The black hedgehog was speechless. Now, without an emerald, they were deep in trouble.

The momentary silence was interrupted by strange rumors and the two hedgehogs looked around for clues. The rumors grew louder and Shadow looked up "I have a bad f…"

And then the whole palace crashed to the ground.

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Ah ah! Sometimes I'm a little evil *laughs like Eggman*  
Eggman: EHI! That's my laugh!  
Sorry…

Anyway; next chapter:  
'…And From Fire To Hell'

Chaos will show up and meet with Michael, Lucifer and Iris.  
There will be more space about Eggman's investigation in the ARK, and Rouge will have little luck in finding what Shadow asked her.  
And what's with the secret? And how can be a hero being involved?  
Who's the owner of the low growl?  
And Sonic and Shadow? Well… I like suspense, and because I'm a little evil, I'm gonna tell you to wait for the next chapter! GYA HAHAHAHA!!!

Az


	6. …And From Fire to Hell

Hi again! Have you reviewed? If not, please, do it.  
*Az put up the puppy eyes with tears* Please, tell me what you think about this fic.  
Johnson Kaler is mine and Metal Shadow is kinda mine; Alan Decò is just a name made up for an occasion or two.  
(Johnson Kaler is a side/support character; he will not have a main part on the fic)

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CHAPTER SIX

…And From Fire to Hell

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From their point of view, it wasn't just the building that had fell upon them, but it seemed that was the entire world.  
They had managed to get out of the middle of the building enough to not get buried deep into the rubble, but not enough to be safe. The darkness took over them at blinding speed.

A noise. To his ears it was distant, but it was continuous and _annoying_. He opened his eyes a little, and noticed that he was lying on his back, looking to his right. His view was blurred, like he was looking at something from underwater, and his eyes burned.  
He saw Shadow, half curled and his back to him; he was unconscious. Sometimes a little movement about his person made Sonic think that maybe he was having a bad dream. The Blue hedgehog looked at the environment; they were in a little room with iron walls; and it was moving. It looked like that they were on some sort of means of transport; maybe a helicopter. That explained that annoying noise.

Too tired to stay awake, he closed his eyes, but before falling asleep he heard someone talking "Do we really have to do this?" It asked, a second voice responded sighing "If we don't, we'll be deep in trouble. I just hope that they'll find a way to escape."

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The robot landed in a base in a rock desert, it was almost time of sunset. Michael and Lucifer were throw feet away by the force of the landing. Seeing that the robot started walking away with the emerald and Iris, they followed it; but when they entered a big building they lost its track, so they just wandered inside.

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"Is the robot returning from its mission?" The general asked; he was sitting behind his desk with the hands folded under the chin.  
"Yes." The Serg. Kaler responded slightly irked "It has already returned with a Chaos Emerald." "Very well. And the two hedgehogs?" "The helicopter should be here in two-three hours. We were lucky to find them already unconscious. But to be safe the squad gave them a light douse of sleeping-draught." The younger man said, but deep in his heart he hated this entire story. The boss smiled "As soon as they're here, take them to the laboratory, then seal them with the aid of the Chaos Emerald."  


The man saluted and left the room closing the door 'This entire story REALLY stink.' He thought; then he crossed the way with a man in white coat. The two looked at each other and nodded slightly to greet one another.  
The two entered into an elevator "Are the two stasis tube for the hedgehogs ready?" He asked, the scientist nodded firmly "I checked one, the other was checked by my colleague. After this phase is done we will finally be able to go on with the original program." "Is that any possibility that one of them will be able to break the glass?" "No," The scientist responded shaking his head "The glass is too strong to break, even for them."

The man puffed 'I hope that they'll escape before they put them in stasis.' The scientist looked at his companion "Is something wrong?" He asked perplexed "No, just wishing that everything will go ok." "Yeah," The other responded "Me too."

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On Angel Island a watery being pinpointed where his target stopped and launched himself into the ocean. A red echidna, seeing the being leave, reached the same point where he stood. Knuckles looked down 'Why is Chaos leaving?'  
A little light started circling around him "Hello Tikal, do you know why Chaos left the island?" He asked looking at the spirit that transformed into a peach colored girl echidna "He heard the cry of a chao, and he's going to make pay whoever hurt the little being."

Knuckles looked again at the water, thinking about what to do. The she spoke again "Knuckles, I fear something, it's not something about Chaos. It involves your friends." "Then you're saying that I must leave the island and discover what's going on?" He asked to her. She nodded lightly "But the Master Emerald will be unattended!" He protested. She sighed again "I understand your feelings and it's up to you to decide what to do. The Master Emerald's safety or your friends'? I just hope that you will decide for the best." She said disappearing.

Knuckles looked at the faraway land 'Maybe I should go down, at least to tell the others about Tikal's feeling…'

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Rouge walked into what was called the government archives; a huge room with at least a hundred of shelves full of papers and other things. She searched for the section marked 'A', where she could find something about ARK, luckily for her it was near the entrance "Well, lets see…" She stopped in front of the first shelf marked A "Here!"

The bat started rummaging into the shelf, and to her surprise she quickly found a thin folder labeled 'ARK Main Experiments'. She picked it up "And now to search something for Shadow." She said searching more in the shelf, but she stopped soon. She had no idea where to look for that 'something'. "Where can I start searching?" She asked to herself, but her thoughts were cut off by two voices that were coming from the entrance. Being a spy she hid herself and listened to the men.

"I understand Shadow, but Sonic? What he did? Just save the world more than one time!" Said one, the other responded a little raged "I know, but the general is fixed with this, and we can't disobey." "Shut up you two, and get to work!" A third said making clear his authority "Yes sir!" The other two responded quickly. They searched the same shelf where Rouge found the folder 'Please! Don't look for this folder!' She pleaded into her mind, but her prayer were useless "Sir, there are no folder about ARK here." one of the two men said. Rouge cursed the bad timing of the men to show up 'They had to just show up now, right!?' She thought, but the next phrase made her snap to full alert "Call the others! Maybe what we search is still in here!"

Now the white bat was looking frantically for another exit, she found no other. She had to try and pass unobserved; she started to walk silently toward the exit using the longest and darkest way around; she was nearly out of the room when the authoritarian man spotted her "THERE!" He yelled pointing the bat "Take her!"  
The other two ran towards her, but she was faster than they were so she managed to make lose her track; until she left the building.  
On the parking there was a big mech, like the one she fought, only this time it had two legs "Freeze!" The pilot said pointing the main gun at her. Rouge stopped and looked around for her car, she found it behind the mech 'Now, how can I reach my car?'  
To answer her question her car suddenly blew up "AHHH! MY CAR!" She yelled with a mixture of anger and surprise; the loudspeaker of the machine grated again "Surrender and give back what you stole!" "HEY! I didn't stole anything! The president gave me permission!" She responded angrily "That is secret material, it doesn't belong anymore to the government."  
Now, Rouge was starting to get angry, very angry "You… YOU…" She started, but was cut off by the arrival of a dozen of men armed with automatic rifle. She decided against the idea of fighting. Too dangerous.

Again she looked around and found nothing, only a manhole. A manhole that just moved. Rouge blinked and stared at the manhole, and like an angel, something red emerged from that same hole; giving her a way of escape. She thanked whoever made this happening and pushed the red thing back from where it came; then she hopped behind it and let the heavy lid cover her way. The men outside were too slow to do something.

On the other hand Knuckles was cursing under his breath. Not only Tikal had led him into the sewers of the city, but when he tried to go back where the sun shone, something just pushed him back.  
"Now! Who was the one that…" He stopped in mid sentence when he saw Rouge on top of him "Rouge! What in the world are you doing here?" He asked looking at her; the bat, noticing the ambiguous position, blushed and quickly got up. She offered a hand to the echidna "Sorry, but it's me that should make that question." "Well, I just landed in the city, when Tikal appeared again and led me here. When I tried to go back up, you pushed me back down." He explained, then, attracted by noises he looked up "What the?" He asked out loud. Rouge remembering the situation she was in, jumped, grabbed the echidna's wrist and ran dragging him. Knuckles, caught by surprise, just followed her.

When they stopped he looked at her "Rouge, what's happening?" He asked; Rouge turned and realized that she was still holding him; slightly embarrassed she let go of the wrist "Well… I was in the archives; I already had found something when three men showed up. They were talking about Sonic and Shadow, and they were looking for this!" She said holding up the yellowish folder. He looked at it "ARK Main Experiments?" He asked out loud "Then Tikal was right, something big is going on here!" He exclaimed to himself. Rouge, hearing again the name 'Tikal', became a bit sad. She was fearing that he had already someone else in his heart 'I guess that he… uh?' to her surprise a pink flying ball of light appeared and started circling around Knuckles' head. The bat pointed the light with a finger "W-w-what's that?" She asked backing off "Oh? Oh, yes. She is Tikal. An ancient spirit. She is harmless and she helped us a lot, now she is helping me again." He said sounding tranquil and confident.  
Upon hearing that Rouge relaxed and brightened, the echidna was still sentimentally free. Then Rouge's thoughts drifted somewhere else "Tell me Knuckles, you left the Master Emerald just to follow the spirit?" She asked "Well, I thought about that, but Tikal said that for the moment the Master was safe and that I could go down without worrying."

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"Now, what I'm gonna do with you?" Johnson Kaler asked looking at a very frightened chao into his hands. Seeing that she was not thrusting him, he started stroking the little chao head. Though she felt better, she was still unsure if she could trust this man or not. They entered a room and she was put on a table "I guess you're hungry, right little being?" he asked taking out a basket of nuts "I'm sorry, this is everything I have for you. I don't think that you'd like pasta or pizza."

Iris looked at him; she started to see the man's kindness "Puvu!" She exclaimed going to the basket and taking a nut. Then the door opened and a man entered in the room "Hey John, look at what we found. They where roaming freely in the base's corridors. I think that they're here for her." He said putting other two chao on the table. When Michael and Lucifer saw Iris they trotted to her and greeted raising a paw. She returned the greetings and started chomping the nut, until the man took it "Wait, I'll broke it for you." He said breaking the nut's shell "Here." He handed the unshelled nut to the little chao that took it and swallowed it in a matter of seconds. Michael and Lucifer looked at each other then to the man and started jumping.

"I think they're a 'little' hungry." Said the man that took them there "Really? I didn't noticed it…" Said John with a hint of sarcasm and crossing his arms. The other man waved a hand "Well, I have to go. I'm in the party that have to take the two hedgehogs to the laboratory then to the super secret room of 'Nobody-knows-what's-in-there-beside-the-few-elected-people'."

----------

Eggman was very frustrated; he had boarded the colony at least 5 hours ago; but until now he couldn't find anything regarding this mysterious 'CT-Project'. He decided to look for something into his grandfather's room.  
When he got there, the man raised an eyebrow. The entire room was in such a state that it looked like that a twister went through there "I guess that I will find nothing here…" He paused and looked at a semi-broken computer that was lying on the floor. The doctor put a hand under his big moustache; maybe somewhere on the ARK's main computer he could find something.

Eggman trotted into the main control room and started typing into the keyboard. He paid much attention at what he was doing; he didn't wanted to risk another 'ARK-falling-to-Earth' thing or something similar.

/Password required/  
- Maria

/Input search word/  
- CT-Project

/Searching…/

Eggman waited patiently for the computer to finish its search, and when it was done he just stared, feeling rather hurt. In the main screen just a phrase:

/Project deleted due to malfunction of one of the components/

Eggman mumbled something inaudible and punched the metal console. 'Nothing! I came here all the way 5 hours ago and the only thing that I could find was that the project was deleted!' He roared in his mind. He sighed and typed only the word 'project', just to see if there was something else worth.  
After a minute or so a list with only three choices appeared

/Select number's item/

_ /CT-Project/ /HiRTraChip Project/ /Project Shadow/ _

Knowing that the CT-Project was deleted and that Project Shadow was roaming freely on the planet with that accursed blue hedgehog, he chose the second option.

2. /HiRTraChip Project/

This is just a theory of how a chip could handle such speed of transmission rate. Unfortunately the funds for this project were cut off, but I salvaged everything just for precautions.

Dr. Gerald Robotnik

Sketch n.1  
Sketch n.2  
Sketch n.3

Eggman's evil grin spread in his mustached face, he could pick up where his grandfather and his team left. Even if he couldn't find anything on the CT-Project, he had found something else.  
The egg shaped man saved the files into a CD, then left for his base.

----------------

Gyhahahaha!!! The six chapter is done and I think that the story will be quite long (at least for me)

Next Chapter:

'Revelations'

Knuckles and Rouge, a little lost in the sewers, discover something interesting.  
Tails and Amy are worried for Sonic and Shadow, but not knowing where the two hedgehogs could be, can't move properly.  
Chaos will create havoc in the Desert Base, the same base where Sonic and Shadow will be transported.  
And the two hedgehogs? Well, let me tell you that they will be in a lot of trouble!

Az


	7. Total Chaos In the Middle Of Nowhere

Salve gente! How ya been?

And now, the 'Bla bla bla yada yada' thing.

Sonic, Shadow and Co. Are of Sega; Johnson Kaler is mine and Alan Decò is just a name made up for an occasion or two.  
(Johnson Kaler is a very side/support character; he will not have a main part on the fic)

****

Again, don't look at the errors… Before I put the new chapter online I read it two, three times. And Word doesn't always pick the wrong word up. For example, 'Bong' and 'Long' are two similar words (it changes only the first letter) but with total different meanings.

****

Authoress' note: Weeks ago I ran into Indilee's best work (I suggest that you go and read it, but I warn you. There's swearing in it). Yes, her work has given me inspiration, but I swear! The things that happen in this chapter are something that I thought about months before I read her fic.

Voice from background: So?

Just to tell, so nobody start saying that I copied her work.

*Blender's noise from the background*

Don't mind it… it's just my brain that keeps working on this fic ^^

PS: This chapter really gave me much work, I had to rewrite seveal pieces several times...

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Total Chaos In the Middle Of Nowhere

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Rouge and Knuckles were into the sewers the entire day and they were starting to get annoyed by the bad smell "Say, Knuckles, do you know where are we going?" Knuckles thought for a moment then shook his head "Nope, not a clue." Rouge's eyes closed halfway "Ah…" She said a little discouraged; she didn't like much the sewers, but as long as she was with him, she really didn't mind the thing.

To distract herself a little, she opened the folder and on top of many papers was a photo. Upon seeing who the subject of the picture was, the bat chuckled a little. The photo showed Shadow in his five, maybe six, years and he was looking to his right. Maybe his attention was attracted by something funny because he was restraining himself from laughing hard.

Rouge shook her head a little and put the picture on the side, revealing a golden bracelet; like the ones that Shadow always wears. She picked it up, admiring the strange fine incisions on its outer side. She fidgeted with it a little, until she saw its inner side, where a little incision was 'To Shadow.' She read 'It's a gift…' She frowned 'but… by who?'

The white bat unconsciously stopped walking 'Is this a gift from Maria? Or by the one that he can't remember?' A voice disturbed her thinking. She looked up to see Knuckles watching her with a raised eyebrow "Oh, sorry." She smiled "I guess I was too deep in thinking…" "Thinking about what?" "This." She responded holding him the bracelet. The echidna took it in his glove "On the outside there are some carvings, and in the inside there's the writing 'To Shadow'."

Knuckles examined the carvings "You know, Rouge? This could be an ancient language." "You sure?" He shrugged and handed back the ring to Rouge "Yes, they are like the ones in the ruins in my island, but I'm sure that it's not ancient echidna, or I'd be able to read it." "Maybe Shadow knows what's written." Knuckles shrugged again "Who knows." He stopped and watched her looking attentively at the object "Shall we go?"

The bat looked in his eyes and smiled "Sure!" She said putting away the bracelet and securely closing the folder. The echidna quickly turned away from her and started walking "Hey! Wait!" Rouge exclaimed reaching him; she leaned to the left and glanced at his face. She could see a faint red under his cheeks' fur 'He's so cute when he's blushing.'

-------------

Sonic woke up as water touched him; he looked around and saw that he was trapped into some sort of tube. His shoes and gloves were gone, exposing his three toed feet; they had little claws in the middle of each finger/ toe and they were white in color and five millimeter longs, like his hands. The water was slowly raising and had a strange greenish tinge; it was even warm. He got up, preoccupied, and put his hands on the glass "Hey! Let me go!" He yelled to the few people that were in the room. They were mainly scientists, and they didn't seem to care about him or his protests. He looked around again, and to his right, in another capsule like him, was Shadow. He started to wake up, and when he saw where he was, he jumped to his feet and looked at Sonic with confusion in his eyes. The last thing that he remembered was being buried by rubbles.

Sonic started pounding at the glass; the water had reached his knees and he purely disliked it "HEY! LET ME GO!" He screamed raged. Shadow was speechless; he couldn't believe his eyes. The blue hedgehog was on the edge of rage and desperation. He never saw him like this, not even when he was into that explosive capsule. Sonic always showed a smile of pure confidence. The only time that the hero made a different expression was when he was falling to Earth; it seemed that he was on the verge of crying.

A man entered in the room and Shadow noticed that on the iron door was printed a big G 'Go figure…' He thought as the general stood before the two captives. The man smiled pleased; in his eyes only wickedness and selfishness. The smile increased and soon transformed into an evil, pleased chuckle; he then turned and started to leave. Shadow looked at him then faced Sonic; the blue hedgehog was watching the man leaving with pure hatred in his eyes "Hey! You! Why this?"

The man stopped without turning "Well, the black hedgehog is a top-secret weapon…" "That doesn't mean that he deserve this!" "Ha ha ha… touching. Very, _very_ touching blue hedgehog. But you…" He paused, wondering about something "Yes, there are many reasons because you are here, hedgehog. Too many. Farewell, hedgehog." He started walking again "Remember, human, I will get you for this. Remember _it_." Sonic hissed menacingly. Everyone in the room shivered uncontrollably; everyone but the general. The man stopped "I'd like to see you do that." He chuckled leaving the two hedgehogs to their supposed fate. When the man left the room with the guards and a few scientists Sonic started forcing the glass again with his shoulder.

Shadow stared at the door; he knew that they wanted him because he was a creature projected and created by Gerald, but Sonic? He had done nothing! Or was it? The black hedgehog just stood there, thinking and knowing to well that he was going to be locked away again.

When the water reached his torso, he saw Sonic lean his head on the glass and look at him; he was deep in thought. Shadow looked in his double's eyes; he could almost make out what he was thinking. Then, his eyes suddenly softened and closed, breaking the spell.

'I will not give up. No matter what!' He thought 'There's no way that I'm going to let those humans take away _my _and _my friend's freedom_!' He opened his eyes; eyes burning fiercely with decision. He started kicking the glass, his little claws making faint scratches on the transparent surface "I SAID TO LET ME GO!"

Shadow pondered 'Why he looked at me like that? What was he thinking about? And why I felt like I was going to understand his thoughts?' He looked at the other hedgehog 'Why he's still fighting? There's no way out of here, is it?' He continued to watch passively. Tired to see the men chuckle at Sonic's effort he closed his eyes; he could still hear voices, but they suddenly disappeared, leaving an eerie silence. Even the rushing of the raising liquid disappeared into thin air; curiosity took over him and he reopened his eyes. And he found himself somewhere else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was still in a stasis tube, but he was sitting on the ground, back leaning on the glass; there wasn't water that was raising and the room was different. At his right there was another tube, but it was empty and the glass was halfway up 'What? Where am I?' He was confused, really confused. The door opened and in the room stepped him; one of the most brilliants minds of all times and non other than his creator. Prof. Gerald Robotnik. Two other scientists closely followed him "Professor, are you sure that he will come?" One of them asked; Gerald nodded "Positively. S-02 is the perfect bait. He will come for sure."

Shadow was more confused than before; he tried to talk but his body wasn't responding 'S-02? Bait? Who has to come? What's going on?' He blinked and the scenario changed again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

He was again in the GUN's lab and the water had reached his neck; he shook his head to clear the confusion that was swarming in his mind 'What was that?'

------------

The alarm went on and the chao looked around "What the?" Johnson asked out loud, and to answer his question a voice grated from the loudspeaker "To all military personal, we are under attack. I repeat; we are under attack. Reach your respective positions." It said.

The man was about to rise from the seat when a thought crossed his mind; he didn't have a combat position. He was just a man that was stick there with the apparently task to compile papers.

"Oh, well… I guess it's up to them." He said to no one in particular. John looked at the chao and was about to say something when the door burst open. He looked over his shoulder and froze. There, standing still like a rock despite his material, stood the water being known as Chaos.

The water beast walked up to the man and looked at him. Even if he found the man with the chao, he could tell that he was not the one that he was looking for. John nodded and handed him Iris; the chao looked at the beast in the eyes and smiled. She could feel gentleness into his soul.

Chaos was going to take the little being in his hands when he felt something else; it was a Chaos Emerald. And it was deep down in the base. He looked down and caressed Iris' head, then looked at the man and left.

--------------

Despite the alarm that was blaring, the things in the lab were going according to the plan. A man put a hand on the glass surface of Sonic's container "He's really strong, look at the glass… it was supposed to be indestructible for a living being, and he nearly made a crack…" He said retracting and looking at the captive. Another man walked beside him and looked at the blue hedgehog with interest "You are right. It will be interesting to examine him." "Yes, but what about Dr. Eggman? Sonic is the only one able to thwart him and his schemes…" "Who cares? When we are done, there will be no need of him."

Sonic had fought with everything he had, but the water reached the top of the stasis tube before he could break it. Now he was surpassing the limit and his lungs screamed for fresh air. Floating in the middle of the tube he curled in a fetal position and released all of his air, breathing in the green liquid; he convulsed and coughed as the warm fluid replaced the air in his lungs. His first thought was that he was going to drown and die, but after a moment of stillness he opened his eyes. He was feeling tired, very tired, and he was feeling his eyes grow heavy as his mind slowly drifted to sleep; but he fought it. He could breath, so he could still fight; Sonic smirked, his eyes burning again with the fire of pure confidence. He slowly put his feet on the same spot were the marks were and he leaned his hands on the opposite side.

The two men looked at him for a few seconds, then one of them called another man that was on a console "Sir, he's fighting back the liquid's properties." He said; the scientist looked up from a clipboard and saw the blue hedgehog push on the glass with his feet. A bip from the console attracted his attention; Sonic's pulse was increasing, alongside with his breathing pace "Amazing…" He muttered disbelieved.

Shadow's eyes were closed and his heartbeat and breathing pace were very low. He had already breathed in the water and was slowly drifting to sleep; until some commotion that was coming from outside attracted his attention. He slightly opened his ruby eyes and saw the three men watch the other glass tube, so he turned his head curiously; his eyes instantly snapped wide open with surprise mixed with shock as he saw the scene that was having place. Sonic was fighting; although he was having difficulties for the insufficient oxygen, he was still fighting 'Sonic…' The black hedgehog was astounded; he couldn't come up with a single word to describe the action of the blue hedgehog. Ignoring the tiredness he put his hands on the glass surface when he saw him convulse uncontrollably; he shifted his attention at the scientists and saw one of them at a console, switching a little lever. After he had done that Sonic stopped convulsing and stood still, but not for too long because he resumed pushing. Another convulsion and again he stood still for a moment or two, after that he resumed again his escaping attempt.

"He's implacable!" One of the men near the tube said looking at the hedgehog "He… he wants to break free at all cost…" The other trailed off "He will not be able to!" The scientist at the console stated releasing another electric shock; this time a few times more powerful. Shadow saw Sonic scream with all of his lungs; even if the water down his throat nullified the scream, the black hedgehog could clearly imagine it.

The blue hedgehog couldn't feel his body anymore; he could feel only the continuous pain running through it. Letting loose a silent scream he forced his body to continue to work; he wasn't going to lose. The pain increased, and in response he increased the strength of his effort; after endless moments he felt the glass slightly budge under his force.

The three men stopped, stunned at the display of the implacable hero. The crack was there, long a span and well thick; the water started to sprout from it as the crack got larger "Quick! The tranquillizer!" The man at the console ordered "Yes Sir!" The other responded picking up a little bottle. The scientist at the console paused as he heard another crack resound on the air "Get ready." He finally commanded. The man holding the tranquillizer picked up a little gun and fuelled it with the serum.

The electric shock was still on, but he didn't mind it anymore. He could feel the glass crumple under his feet, and this made him more determined in not giving up. Finally the glass broke and the liquid splashed on the metal ground of the lab; the pain brought by electricity stopped, but it was replaced by the one on his legs. Sonic sunk to the bottom, his legs on the sharp edges of the new opening; he closed his eyes, relishing in the momentary peace.

Despite his tiredness he was full awake; something was keeping him awake, and it was the adrenaline brought by Sonic's actions. Shadow was happy to see that the blue hedgehog had broke free, but he was concerned about him; he had received so much electric shocks that a normal being would be dead by now. The black hedgehog saw the man holding the gun advancing on him, and started pounding on the glass in hope to warn him of the incoming danger.

The man took the blue hedgehog's feet and pushed them into the glass tube again, which raised with a faint swishing sound; the remaining water sprawled around, soaking the metal floor and the feet of the two nearby human "Hey! Couldn't you drain the liquid first?" "It wasn't supposed to be released here, so shut up."

The man holding the gun watched as the blue hedgehog coughed up the water that was in his lungs; after he stopped he looked at the man next to him "Is he unconscious?" He asked. The other shrugged looking at the one at the console. He got up and slowly neared the unconscious being on the ground, moving him with his foot; Sonic rolled on his back, but afterward he didn't moved "I guess that the fatigue knocked him out, but it's best if we put him under sedatives." He said holding out a hand; the other scientist handed him the tool and backed off.

Sonic was actually faking unconsciousness, waiting for a good opportunity to act; and now he saw it. As the hand holding the gun approached him, he snapped open his eyes and with a swift motion of his right arm he grabbed the other's wrist, twisting and breaking it.

The man screamed in pain and was brought face to face with the blue hedgehog; he could see his green eyes burning fiercely "Don't ever underestimate me. Whatever you do. I'll break free… no matter what!" He kicked the man in the stomach, sending him on the ground several feet away. Sonic raised to his feet and looked at the other two "Who's the next?" He asked, holding his fiery gaze and raising slightly his quills. The two men looked at each other and ran out of the room scared for their lives.

"Good." Sonic said walking over the console; he scratched his head, trying to figure out what to do. He was interrupted as he felt something connect with the back of his head; he fell on the ground dazed and rolled on his back to see the man that he kicked holding a metal stool. He rolled again to avoid another hit and saw the sedative gun lying on the ground near the broken tube. The blue hedgehog grinned and kicked away the stool from his opponent's good hand; after the man backed off for the hit he raised and dashed to the tool. He picked it up and with a jump he avoided a swing from the man, landing behind him "Say good night!" He said pushing the needle into the man's back; he immediately collapsed on the ground chuckling "Such a powerful beast… you are… he was right… nobody can… tame you…" He said falling asleep under the drug's effect.

Sonic looked at Shadow grinning "See, Shadow? Nobody can take away my freedom." He said panting lightly; he then walked to the console, trying to figure what switch would release the other hedgehog. He grunted and kicked the big metal box "To hell with this!" He yelled turning around and looking for another option. The blue hedgehog grinned again and walked over a glass compartment encased on the wall near the door; in it a kit for emergency cases complete with a first aid kit, a hatchet and a hose in case of fire. He opened the thin glass door and let loose a surprised short scream when the hatched nearly fell on his bare foot.

Sonic took the hatchet and walked over the tube containing Shadow; he placed it on the glass and motioned for him to back off as best as he could. The black hedgehog accomplished and watched as he charged up for a swing.

Sonic swung as hard as he could and the bang produced by the hit resounded loudly into the room; he lifted the axe and watched as the water poured from the newly produced crack. He was ready for another hit when the door opened; he turned his head and gasped quietly.

On the door stood a squadron of twelve GUN robots; after a moment they raised the laser rifles and made a steep towards their objective "Freeze hedgehog." One of them grated. Sonic stood still, pondering what to do; he couldn't take all of them because he was too tired, but four of them would be possible.

The hedgehog grinned and with a quick move he launched the hatchet at the panel next the door, breaking it; the little thing sparkled and the door closed, leaving out of the room almost the entire squadron. Now only four of them where there, shooting at the moving hedgehog; but he was too quick for them. Sonic ducked behind the console and noticed the big cable sprouting out of it; he took it and tore it from the metal box "Surrender yourself hedgehog." It was the general who spoke; the hero growled "Ah! Make me, idiot!" "Suit yourself, hedgehog! Take him!" The man bellowed through the robot's speaker.

A robot rounded the corner and saw the hedgehog on the ground holding a cable "Human! I have a name!" He yelled putting the cable into the joints of the robot. The mech convulsed for the shock as the current ran trough his chips and metal parts; Sonic ran and curled into a ball as the robot exploded. Shards flew everywhere and the blue ball was hurled into another robot, sending it in pieces. Two down, two to go.

He uncurled and landed, sliding for a few feet on the wet surface of the lab; he gritted his teeth when a sharp pain appeared on his legs. He raised and looked at the remaining bots; none of them made a move "Hedgehog…" "What do you want, _human_?" "I want to tell you this." He paused; Sonic took the opportunity to prepare himself for another attack "I propose you a pact." The blue hedgehog backed off "What?" "You can leave if you leave here the black hedgehog. He's enough for our plans." Sonic remained silent and turned to look at his black doppelganger "Alluring…" He said putting a foot under the stool that was on the ground.

Shadow could feel his heart being crushed by an invisible force; he was scared, terrified that the other hedgehog was going to betray him. He watched him and that fear vanished immediately as he saw his eyes; eyes that expressed rage "But I'd rather die than leave him here!" He yelled in response "I will do something better, hedgehog. I will take away from you your speed and your freedom."

Sonic's rage exploded; he kicked the stool so he could grab it with his right hand and spun around with all of his speed and strength. The stool was launched and connected with the head of one of the two remaining robots "Human! It's better for you to hide somewhere where I can't find you, because I'm going to hunt you until you are dead!" He yelled pointing a finger to the last robot. A 'hmpf ' resounded from the metallic loudspeaker of the mech "We'll se, hedgehog. To all robots of the base! Stop the blue hedgehog at all cost! Don't kill him." He paused and the robot raised its gun "Aim for his legs." He finished.

Sonic jumped to avoid the laser beam directed at his legs and ran towards the robot avoiding the shots; when he was in front of the mech he jumped and round kicked its head. The hit was so powerful that the little flat head literally flew away, hitting the wall; without it the robot collapsed on the ground giving off a few convulses.

The blue hedgehog landed neatly, but his legs failed him and he found himself sitting on the floor; he looked at them and sighed, trying to decide what to do. He touched one of the glass shards that where in his right leg and winced; yes, he could still walk and perhaps even run, but now that all the action was over his adrenaline was out and the sharp pain was catching up with his mind. He sighed again and looked at the door; the robots on the other side where trying to knock it down, but for now it was keeping up. Sonic looked around for the hatchet and found it lying under the last robot that he destroyed; he took it and pulled it from under it "Hang on, Shadow! I'll pull you outta there, no matter what!" He said panting.

Shadow saw him get up to his feet with difficulty and limp toward his position; the blue hedgehog smiled at him and started hitting the glass with his last strengths. After a dozen of hits the glass broke and the water was quickly drained on the floor; the black hedgehog fell to his hands and knees on the few inches of the remaining liquid and freed his lungs from it. After the coughing fits ended he looked up to see Sonic leaning on the hatched for support "Are you ok?" He asked gasping lightly. Shadow crouched and left the glass tube through the hole opened by him "What about you, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog smiled "These are only scrapes. Don't worry." He said bending over and prying a glass shard out of his leg "See? I'm fine! They're too small to have cut trough my muscles." He held out the pieces to him "I'm not sure of it, Sonic. I can see pain in your eyes." "Th…" Sonic was cut off by an explosion that blew up the door; the two hedgehogs were thrown on the floor, and when they looked up they saw the rest of the robot squadron, plus a dozen of men pointing their laser guns at them. The two squadrons parted as the infamous man walked up to them "Well, well, well…" He stopped and looked down at the two "Impressive, blue hedgehog. But I told you. You _can't_ escape."

Sonic's eyes burned again with the fire of rage; but soon the rage transformed into pure shock as three men pinned him firmly on the ground and a robot placed its foot on his left leg; the general smiled evilly "Break his legs, so he doesn't escape." He said leaving the devastated room.

The robot increased the pressure on the leg and Sonic screamed as he felt the shards of glass cut deeper in his flesh; that was too much, and he lost it. He planted his teeth on an arm at his right; the man yelled and released his hold on the hedgehog. With his right arm free, Sonic swung at a second man, hitting him in the face and causing four nice red marks where his clawed fingers passed; the man, shocked by the swing, fell backwards, releasing the blue hedgehog's other arm and leg. Sonic grabbed the third man that was holding him by the shoulders and launched him at the robot; the mech lost its balance and fell on the ground crashing loudly. The entire action took place in only a few seconds and nobody, besides Sonic, had the time to understand what was going on.

Shadow managed to understand only one thing; Sonic was really pissed off and was attacking everything that was a threat to him. How he could act like this he couldn't understand. The blue hedgehog was heavily drained of energies; he could see that by his breathing pace and by the movements of his body. But he neither stopped nor slowed down.

His train of thoughts were interrupted by a loud grunt let loose by the other hedgehog and looked up. Sonic was now pinned to the ground on his stomach, a robot's foot pressing firmly on his back and four men that were holding still his limbs. The ebony creature looked around and saw other two men on the ground and two robots with missing limbs 'How that happened?' He was too shocked to rebel against the two robots that were holding him.

"Somebody, please, go and get a tranquillizer, a sedative, _something_!" One of the men pinning Sonic pleaded "Going…" Another murmured massaging his belly; he had received a full force hit from a foot of the hedgehog. He limped around the room and found the gun on the ground under the seat at the console; unfortunately for him the bottle of tranquillizer was in a thousand pieces and the liquid was sprawled on the floor "We have a problem…" He said "What?" "No tranquillizer… I have to go to the storage rooms and pick up a new bottle." "Then start running!" Another one yelled "Uh… yes." He responded running out of the room.

Sonic was getting weaker as the time passed; he stopped struggling and went totally limp under the grasp of the men. Everyone stopped, leaving the room in total silence; only the labored breathings of the blue hedgehog and the little noise made by the robots resounded on the air. Sonic closed his eyes and let his body relax. The men, believing that he was out cold, released their hold and backed off, only the robot remained "Is he…?" One of them asked kneeling beside the hedgehog.

Now free from the humans' grasp, Sonic rolled to the side, throwing the robot off balance. The mech fell on the ground with a loud 'thud' and the blue warrior jumped to his feet, kicking the chin of the kneeled man in the process "Shadow! Need a hand here!" He half yelled half grunted from his efforts.

The black hedgehog, hearing him call his name, snapped back to reality and kicked the right bot's head, damaging his eyes and a few chips into it; but in doing so he winced at the pain brought on his bare foot. The robot immediately shut down and released his hold, falling on the ground. He then gripped the other robot's right arm and pulled hard. The arm was ripped rather easily and he used it like a weapon to smash its head; the mech instantly collapsed down, motionless. Shadow felt his energies rushing back to him; and he purely liked the feeling.

"The black one! Subdue the black one!" A man yelled when he saw Shadow's display of rebellion "This ends now." He firmly said as his soul burned with a new fire. Unknown to him it was very similar to the one that Sonic showed when he fought to break his glass container.

Sonic surveyed the room 'Four robots and ten humans…' He stopped thinking as he saw Shadow jump and do a back somersault, kicking the chin of a nearby human; the man flew backwards and hit the wall. He crumpled to the ground and remained there immobile 'And nine humans.' He corrected himself. He was ready to attack a man that was in front of him when he felt his back fur going on end; he jumped and round kicked the man that was trying to hit him on the back of his head with the butt of his rifle, sending him on the floor unconscious. He landed and crouched, round kicking the other man's legs from under him; the man hit the ground with a yell of surprise. The blue hedgehog raised and drop kicked him on the stomach, assuring himself that he wasn't going to jump back into the fight too soon.

Shadow looked around for his next possible target; he saw a robot aiming at his companion and jumped. He somersaulted in mid air and kicked the robot's head with the heel of his right foot; the force of the hit was enough to dent the metal, but not enough to take it down. However, the mech lost it's balance and the shot that went off hit the ceiling instead of its original target; the hit broke a lamp, which fell on top of another human, knocking him out. The ebony hedgehog ripped the rifle from the robot's hand and used it to shot the mech's head.

Sonic jumped and punched another man under his jaw, making him go up a feet; he then hit the ground with the back of his head and passed out. The blue hedgehog felt the air suddenly leave his lungs as he was hit on his back by something hard; he fell on the ground and rolled on his back. A mech was looming over him with his laser rifle charged up and aimed at his legs; the blood in his veins instantly froze as the world momentarily slowed down for him. He gulped and kicked the rifle off the bot's hand; the weapon's shot hit the ceiling and two lamps were taken down.

Sonic, seeing the force of the hit, momentarily paled, but his thoughts quickly went back to the flying rifle, which landed at his right. He rolled towards it and avoided the metal foot that hit the floor instead of his leg and took the weapon in his left hand; he turned on his back and put his right hand on the rifle, and aiming at the robot he pulled the trigger. The laser shot hit his target, causing a nice hole in the middle of the mech's torso; black smoke started to sprout from it. The robot fell backwards, hitting the floor with a loud clang. The blue hedgehog raised and turned around, only to see one of the two last mech shoot at him; the laser went off towards Sonic's left leg, at tibia's height.

Shadow heard a scream that was halfway between pain and surprise; he turned his head and saw Sonic badly fall forward. He shoot the robot's head away and used the rifle like a boomerang to strike the man that was trying to recharge his weapon; the gun flied for ten feet before it connected with the target's face, causing him to fall on the ground unconscious. The black hedgehog ran towards a man at his left and used him like a springboard to jump at the next one; the man was thrown several feet on the ground, skidding on the water and going to hit the console with his head.

Shadow flew towards his objective and curled up; he felt himself connect with something soft and promptly uncurled to see the man fly on the ground. He was immediately out cold. The last two men tried to flee but were stopped by the ebony hedgehog that ran and kicked one of them on the neck, sending him on the other; the two lost their balance and hit the wall.

He landed breathing a sigh of relief, but when he turned he saw the last robot pick him up by his neck; the grasp tightened and he started to see white and black spots. His vision became blurry and the colors faded, until the robot released his neck and everything returned normal. The black hedgehog fell on the ground and looked up; the robot fell on its side revealing its killer "Sonic…" He said looking at him in disbelief "I thought that… you were hit… I saw you fall."

Sonic smiled "Nearly… I managed to parry the hit with the rifle…" He held up the damaged rifle; it was missing its butt and the broken edges were black "But the recoil sent it against my leg, making me fall…" He finished throwing away the broken weapon. He walked to the door and looked at the corridor; nobody was coming for now "C'mon, Shadow. We have to find at least our shoes before we leave."

Shadow watched him with attentive eyes; the blue hedgehog had several wounds at the legs, and his left one was the worst. Besides the shards that were still in his flesh and a few burns caused by too much near laser shots, he could see a big purple zone slowly forming under his blue fur in the same spot where he had received the crush by the robot's foot and the nasty hit by the rifle.

Seeing Sonic slowly walk out of the door, Shadow jumped to his feet and reached him, stopping him by putting a hand on his right shoulder "Wait Sonic… You can't go around with these nasty wounds!" The other hedgehog turned around "I know Shadow, but we don't have time to stay here for my wounds." He responded. The black hedgehog stopped, Sonic was right; they hadn't the time to stop, or they would have to face other robots sent there to stop them. He looked around for clues and fixed his gaze on a grate on the wall opposite the door "I have an idea." He said walking over the first aid kit on the little alcove; he picked it up and turned around. He could see Sonic walk to the grate and remove it by jumping and kicking it; he had understood his idea and had preceded him in his intention. The passage was near the ceiling and was big enough for them to crawl in it, but for a human it would be impossible to travel in it; they would have time to rest and patch up Sonic's wounds.

The man returned holding the bottle "I got…" He stopped as he surveyed the room; it was literally a total mess in there. Black spots were everywhere marking a laser hit; most of the neon lamps were now on the ground. One, that was hanging by only the energy cable and that was flickering, chose that moment to fell on the floor making a loud clattering noise. All of the robots were on the ground and half of them were beyond repairs. The men were down like the robots and only now a few of them started moaning and moving slowly "…it." He finished realizing that he had run all the way for nothing and that the two hedgehogs had escaped.

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Chaos stared at the new corridor that he was in; it was rather large and on the walls, at every intersection and corner, was installed a surveillance camera. Knowing that in that direction was a Chaos Emerald, he headed toward the source of the sensation. Bashing every robot that got in his way, he arrived at a door with a plaque on it. There, written in capital letter, white on red, was a _''A1' Storage Room. Military Zone. Impassable limit.' _inscription. Blowing up the iron door, he entered in the room.

It was dark and a few shelves where lined on the left wall; on them many boxes were full of folders and other hand sized item. The other side was filled with strange machines and capsules a feet wide and two tall. They were filled with greenish water and into them were little embryos heavily deformed; the specie was unrecognisable. On the glass of every capsule was a label that went from S-03 to S-11.

He walked up to the shelves and in a box he saw what took him there. The yellow Chaos Emerald.

He took it; maybe he could use it to create some more havoc in the base. When he got there, he could sense that many of its dwellers where evil, greedy and careless of the others that where around them "Freeze!" Someone said from the door, Chaos looked at him and tightened his three fingers on the emerald. There was a blinding light coming from the watery being and when it ceased Chaos was no more there. 

He had used the blinding light caused by the fusion with a Chaos Emerald to avoid the man that tried to stop him; he wasn't bad, so there was no need to hurt him. He crossed the hallways causing havoc on all sides, but avoided the very few men that weren't rotten and reached the room of the man with the chao.

Chaos bent lightly his head on the side; it was a sign of confusion. He was sure that the room with the chao was this, but neither them nor the man were here. The beast looked around for clues, and on the table he saw a paper sheet; on it he could see drawings. They where stylized and bad drawn, but he could clearly made out that it was a message left for him. The first was a man and three chao into a room; the second was representing the same characters but they were running. In the third they were on a flying vehicle and in the final one the four of them were in a garden, surrounded by other chao. It was clear that the message meant that the man was taking the chao back to their home.

Chaos stood there; if he had mouth, then his lips would draw an amused smile. He put the sheet paper back on the table and silently thanked that blue hedgehog for stopping him some time ago; he walked out of the door and stopped as an announcement left the grate of a nearby loudspeaker "To all military personal and non. The two prisoners have escaped. Track them down and use sedative guns to recapture them." The man speaking paused for few seconds "You may injure them, but only if necessary and it must be non lethal. I _want_ them back _alive_. In particular the blue one!"

Blue one? Could he be talking about that blue hedgehog? The water being was going to walk away to discover who this 'blue one' was when the loudspeaker grated again with the same voice of before "Look out even for the water being known as Chaos. He has a Chaos Emerald and he is dangerous. Try to recover the gem only if this beast show up. Don't go look for him, your main quest is to retrieve the two fugitives."

The loudspeaker fell silent once again and Chaos looked around; if the man's order was to not look out for him, then he could pass unobserved more easily. Now that the chao were safe and on the way for home, his mission switched from rescue to understand and escape causing a lot of havoc on the way. He looked down at the Chaos Emerald into his right arm; it was rather eerie for it was slightly being drained by something. He felt it before, in fact it started when he fused with the gem, but in the rush to get there he pushed the feeling into the back of his mind.

Chaos decided to follow the faint sensation, which led him back to the storage room; the sensation that the emerald energy was being drained strengthened itself. He entered in the room and his eyes widened in disgust and shock. The embryos were growing unnaturally fast; although they where abnormally deformed, now he could understand their species. Hedgehogs.

His watery body nearly boiled for the rage that his mind produced. How could somebody play with life like this? That was unforgivable! He walked to the tank labeled S-03 and looked at the little being mutate; now he could see little patch of fur. It was black and red in color. He placed the left hand on the top of the tank; he could sense an abnormal hunger for Chaos Energy. This would pose a really bad problem; such hunger always took its bearer into a state of berserk. Uncontrollable and really dangerous; a mindless monster.

He decided for the best option; he would instantly eliminate the lives within the tanks. He hated to do this, but the risk to let them grew it was too much; and even if he let them do it, they would never have a normal life. Thanks to the humans into this place. He would make sure that this place would be blow up. Nobody has the right to play with life.

A bright white light erupted from the door, followed by a scream and an explosion. Chaos left the room as the flames devoured machines, items, folders and the lives within their tanks; he looked back into the orange flames and felt no more draining. He turned and ran away letting loose his greatest scream. A scream filled with hate and rage, but also filled with pain for the ones who would not be able to feel the pleasure of life.

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"Disappeared? What do you mean _disappeared_?" The general almost yelled at a man "W-well…" He started "I don't care! They are still here. Search every room, every corridor, everything! I want them back!" He commanded yelling. The man saluted and quickly walked out of the door.

The general walked back and forth in his office; he stopped as the door swung open and a man in white coat entered in the room carrying a little folder "Ah, it's you." He said looking at the man; he was in its middle thirty, and had black hair and eyes. He was the head scientist of the whole place and good friend with the general "So?" He asked to the man "I have two news. Do you want to hear first the good one or the bad one?" "The good" "Our theories where correct." "And the bad?" "The blood that we picked up is insufficient for our scopes; and the samples died after about two hours from the withdrawal." He paused and sighed "The project can't go on if we don't have the body and all the Chaos Emeralds."

The general sighed "I admit it, I have underestimated them, but that will not happen again." The two men sat at the desk "I heard that they disappeared after the fight in the lab. Is that true?" "Yes, but I know that they are still in here." "How are you so sure?" "Because the only exit of this base is under heavy guard. They would be immediately spotted."

The scientist looked up, attracted by something "Not if they pass through the air ducts…" He said; the general followed the gaze of the other man and slightly squinted his eyes in rage and frustration. He turned and pressed a button on an intercom; after some seconds a man entered in the room "Commander! Search the air ducts. Those two hedgehogs may be in there." He quickly said; the man nodded and left for his businesses.

The general sighed once more "They are crafty." He said; the scientist nodded "Yes, they are. And Sonic is very strong willed. He will not stop until he and Shadow are safe." He paused "Yes, this will be an interesting chase."

The same man of before rushed into the room again "S-sir! The 'A1' storage room was blown up. Everything went destroyed in the explosion and the following fire." He said nervously; he didn't know what was in there, but he knew that the 'A1' storage room had very important things in it, and he also knew that the new wasn't going to be liked by the two superiors. The general jumped to his feet and beat his hands on the desk "What?!" He almost yelled; the scientist just stared disbelieved. Almost fifty years of work lost in a damned explosion "Who did this?" His tone was calm despise the situation, but it had an icy tone in it. The poor man sweated and gulped "It… it was Chaos, sir." He stuttered. The general sat back into his chair and shooed off the man. The human left gratefully the room.

"Why would Chaos destroy something that he doesn't know about?" He asked to himself "Could he possibly have understood the meaning of the specimens?" The head scientist asked back; the other man sighed and burrowed his head in his hand "If that's right, then we have a powerful enemy to watch out for." "Yes." The other responded nodding. The two men knew that now every move in their plan would have to be extra careful; they would have to watch out for the blue hedgehog's friends, government spies and now an angered Chaos.

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It was dark and dusty in there, but it was better than the corridors that were full of men and robots in search of them; they had stopped in a corner, near a grate, so Sonic could lean on a wall and Shadow could see and treat his legs. The black hedgehog picked up the other hedgehog's right leg and started to carefully take away the shards; although the blood had stopped soon after the battle, the blood loss had been rather bad. He glanced up at Sonic. His head was turned to the left, toward the other branch of the duct, and he was trying hard to not wince; the strange thing was that he wasn't complaining about the fact that he was the one that was treating his legs. Or rather, he seemed glad that he was here with him. After he cleared the leg from all the shards he picked up a bottle and a cotton wad from the first aid kit that was placed at his left.

He carefully started cleaning the wounds with it 'Look at this…' He put the wad down and fished in the white box for some sterilized gauzes to cover the wounds 'If I was him, I wouldn't be able to fight like he had done… much less to be able to walk.' He briefly looked up. Sonic had his eyes tightly shut and his mouth was drawing a light frown on his face; he was clearly in pain. Shadow sighed and returned his gaze to the leg; now that the wounds were all covered with the gauzes he could pass to the bandaging. It was the first time in his life that he had to do it. Not that it was something so terribly hard to do, but if not done correctly it could cause problems afterward; too much tight it will close the blood circulation, too loose they will simply slide down. He turned and picked up a roll of bandage "Tell me if it's too tight or too loose." He whispered starting to wrap the blue hedgehog's leg; he only received a nod from him.

A minute later the leg was bandaged 'Nice, considering that it was my first attempt.' He thought as he carefully placed it on the duct's floor. Shadow looked down at Sonic's left leg; the glass shards were deeper in the flesh here, and the purple zone had grown in size and deepened in color. The bump took almost a third of his entire lower leg "This will be more painful, so brace yourself." He said; the blue hedgehog was going to say something when a raged and pained scream filled the corridors. The two stopped and Shadow's fur stood on end "What… what was that?" He whispered uneasy; Sonic smiled "That was Chaos. I don't know why he's here, but judging by his scream he's kinda mad with the humans in here…" "Chaos?" The blue hedgehog waved his hand "Long story, I'll tell you when we get out of here."

After the commotion in the corridors ceased, Shadow went back to his task. After he carefully took off the shards and disinfected the wounds he patched them; sighing he took another roll of bandages and looked up "Sonic?" The blue hedgehog slowly turned his head "Yes?" "I'm going to bandage this, but I'm not sure if you will be able to walk. The left leg is…" He trailed off, not knowing what to say. Sonic made a hint of a smile "I'll be alright. I'll be able to walk and the wounds will heal in a week or so." His voice sounded distant and his eyes where half closed.

'He's really strong willed, but I _know _that he has reached his limit.' Shadow thought wrapping the leg 'I wonder… will he surpass his limit? If yes, what will happen next?' He fixed the bandage with the strong adhesive tape, making a loop around the leg with it, and looked up. Sonic's body was limp against the metal wall at his back and his head was slightly bent down; his eyes were cast downwards and were almost closed now.

They looked distant, spent and empty…

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Do do do! I think that this is the best cliffhanger I have ever done! Actually I love how I ended the chapter *Evil laughs* I guess that you have to wait for the next chapter *Runs away from an angry mob*

Next chapter:

'Follow Me, I'll Set You Free'

Az


	8. Follow Me, I’ll Set You Free

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Sorry! Sorry! I know! I've been slacking off lately… forgive me! Please!

Anyway… here we are with the copyright!  
- Sonic and co. are of Sega.  
- Johnson Kaler is mine; Alan Decò is just a name made up for an occasion or two.  
(Johnson Kaler is a side/support character; he will not have a main part on the fic)

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RichaCo: No, don't worry, it's not a Sonic/Shadow story, and don't worry for the 'stupid' question. It was just a question, and got the proper answer. By the way, I really appreciated your second review. Hope to not disappoint you with the next chapters!

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Arken Elf: Thanks! I really appreciate that you like my fic. Your 'please continue soon' give me the strength to continue.

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Incomplete13: Just wait and see what I have in mind (and because I'm very naughty I'm not going to tell you if you're right or wrong)! Kyahahaha! *runs away*

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yugi's dragon friend: Thanks! For the drawings... you may be disappointed because my style is a very, very simple one. You can see it in my site and you can find the url in my profile. ****

Tails, Knuckles, Rouge and Amy's fans: I'm sorry if lately these characters seems to be left out of the story, but I have difficulties with them. I don't know what to do with them. In the next chapter I hope to 'enlarge their space'.

In the mean time, if you have some ideas and want to share them with me, send me an email.  
Very Important Authoress' note: Only now I realize that the fic title really sucks. But I can't change it… oh, well…

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PS: Don't look at the errors! I am a better writer in English than in my own language, the Italian! (Strange, uh?)  
That's mean that I don't see 'em and word can't find 'em!  
Anyway, if there are incongruences on the story, forgive me! I'm passing a minor Writer's Block (it's little, but it's still giving me troubles…)

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Very, very important PS/1: Ok, I must advise you that now I have three fics instead of one, so the update will be slowed down a little. However the updates will be in this order: _Chaos' Twins_, _Just A New Life_, and in the end _Live, Open Your Heart And Learn_ (I know that someone will kill me for this last fic, but hey! We're in a free world, right?)

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PS/2: I finally found the names of the GUN robots, so from now on I will be able to call them with their names.  
Voice From Background: So?  
Why are you always complaining?  
Voice From Background: Because I am the voice of your conscience…  
Bhaaa! That's enough of it! Shut up and let me work. And from now on I'll call you Gigia.  
Za: BWAHAHAHA! That's a good one! Gigia! *Keep laughing until she falls over*  
… What can I say? My other two lovely personalities…

And now, for the **ones** that wanted to **kill me** for the last chapter's cliffhanger, on with the show!

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CHAPTER EIGHT

Follow Me, I'll Set You Free

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The black hedgehog froze, both physically and mentally 'Is he…' He shakily placed his right hand on Sonic's left shoulder "Sonic…?" He whispered almost silently.

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What happened he didn't know. Before he was in a duct, now he was in a black nothingness, unable to move, unable to speak or see; practically his five senses were totally inoperative. He felt his awareness slowly drift away; even thinking was something hard to do in that 'space'. 

"Sonic…?" It was faint, but it was there and it stopped his drifting. His ears twitched involuntarily.  
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Shadow saw Sonic's ears move and breathed a sigh of relief. The blue hedgehog wasn't dead, but again, he could be in a few moments if he couldn't wake him up from that catalepsy status 'Must be the consequence of the blood lost in the battle.' "Sonic." He was determined to not lose him like that, not when he was there to prevent it "Sonic, don't die on me like this, you Faker!"

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" Sonic, don't die on me like this, you Faker!" He moved his body a little and frowned for a fraction of a second; this voice was familiar and it was determined to not let him drift away.

'Faker'

A word that reminded him of something that he had forgotten when he lost his senses "Wake up Faker!" The voice was whispering, but it was urgent "I'm not going to exit this hellish place without you! So stop faking death and wake up!" It not only stopped his awareness from drifting, but gave him back the ability to think straight 'Stop… faking death? Am I… am I dying?'  
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Shadow looked at his reactions; they were getting better "Sonic!" His whisper was still urgent, but had a contented and relieved tone in it. 

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"Sonic!" Now he was sure of it; he knew that voice, and its owner as well 'I'm here. I'm coming.' Everything started to slowly come back; noises from the background, the smell of metal and dust, cold and warm. Unfortunately even the pain from his legs.

Now in the blackness he could see a black shape and a luminous spot behind it; everything was tremendously blurry and hard to make out.   
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Shadow put his other hand on Sonic's left shoulder and lightly shook him; his head bobbed lightly back and forth "Hey! You ok?" The blue hedgehog squeezed his eyes shut and moved his body a little. It was like moving a boulder, but the feeling was slowly dissipating away "W… What happened?" His voice was a light whisper, impossible for a human to pick up "I'd like to know! You were like dead! You… you…" He sighed, he was a little confused by his emotions; angry because the other hedgehog scared him, relieved because he woke up and confused because he was feeling them. He shook his head and looked at his blue double with an angry expression "Next time that you do that, I'm gonna leave you behind!"

Sonic smiled; his green eyes now full again of life "I guess I own you one, then." He moved his arms 'Good, my body is almost back to normal.' He got up on his hands and knees and started to wobbly crawl away. Shadow watched him and put the things back into the first aid kit 'What am I…?' He stopped and put it all on the side "Sonic! Wait!" He exclaimed in a whisper crawling away and leaving the box behind.

The little journey in the ducts was tranquil, and Shadow got time to think 'Why?' He was trying to sort out why he felt scared when the blue hedgehog nearly died in front of him. His heart skipped a beat as his forehead hit something spiny; he instinctively threw his head back and hit the ceiling. The black hedgehog let out a low grunt and massaged the two hurting spots "Sonic, why the hell you stopped?"

Shadow looked forward; Sonic had stopped as he came across a junction. The blue hedgehog looked left then right "This way!" He whispered as he took the right path. The other hedgehog followed him "How do you know that this is the right path?" "The air is blowing from this way." It was a simple answer that gave Shadow the answer to one of his questions 'Sonic has a lot of tricks and know a lot of things, but he never show them until the right time comes. That's why he always surprises me.' He stopped and sat kneeled on the metal surface; he already saw this scene, with someone slowly crawl forwards. It was so familiar.

Sonic, sensing that Shadow had stopped, turned and neared his companion "What's up?" He asked raising an eyebrow. The black hedgehog snapped back to reality, ending the moment "I'm not sure… It was like I already lived the previous moment." "That was a deja-vu. Sometimes it happens. Nobody knows why they come or the meaning of such experiences." He explained resuming his advance. Shadow looked down at his hands 'No Sonic, I know what they feel like, and I am sure that that was not a deja-vu.'

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"General!" A man exclaimed opening the door of the office. The general looked up from the paper that he was reading "Have you found them?" "They are in the ducts of the D section on the fifth floor. And they are directed to the main fans. From there they could easily make their way to the service elevator." The man at the desk nodded "Use smoke bombs to drive them out. Open the walls if necessary, but I want them back at all cost. Do you understand?" "Yes sir!"

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Sonic looked out of the duct through the little splits of the grate; he could see a group of men talking between them "This is the plan. Ready men?" One of them asked. The others nodded and the group departed. The blue hedgehog's eyes narrowed and a low grunt escaped from his throat; it was loud enough to alert his companion that there was an incoming trouble "Sonic, what's up?" "They have something in mind…" He whispered back "And I bet that they know that we are in here." 

They continued down the duct until Sonic stopped; he could see smoke coming their way "Shadow, we have a problem…" From his position Shadow couldn't see anything so he was going to ask what was happening when the problem showed itself "Smoke?" He asked "Yeah cough we have to plan something else. The ducts are no more safe." "We can backtrack to the last grate, it's only few feet away."

The white light of the neon lamps coldly illuminated the metal corridor; it was heavily shielded by a foot of thick smoke that danced near the ceiling. There was nobody there to see that a metal grate was kicked away from its place by a black furred foot with such force that it went sailing on the other wall. Luckily for them.

Shadow jumped down from the duct, coughing and crying from the smoke's effect; he wiped the tears from his eyes and turned around as he felt the other hedgehog grunt when he landed. He could clearly see the efforts that Sonic was doing to suppress the pain and to not become a burden. For a strange reason he felt concerned towards his ex enemy, and he couldn't understand why.

Now he had again total control of his body, the effects of that hellish experience dissipated ten minutes after that, but now he was dealing with something almost unbearable; it was something like searing pain, but more intense and localized. The blue hedgehog made a few unsteady steep; every little movement giving off pain. He almost fell on the ground a few times before he grabbed something; or better, something grabbed his arms and he instinctively grabbed it for support.

Shadow looked at Sonic; his body was badly beaten and low on energies, not to mention that it was deprived of a good quantity of blood, but it seemed that his mind was denying all the pain and tiredness "Sonic, how can you do this?" The blue hedgehog looked up and put a puzzled expression on his face "Do what?" "Walk, Sonic. How can you walk with those wounds on your legs?" Sonic chuckled softly "Willpower, Shadow. It a simple fact of willpower." Shadow let his arms go "Ok, but don't fall behind." He said walking away.

Shadow led the way, scanning the area for enemies; he looked back to make sure that the other hedgehog was behind him and not behind the previous corner. Sonic smiled; it was a sign that everything was ok and that nobody was following them. The black hedgehog stopped at a corner and peeked in the other corridor; he mentally sighed and leaned back on the wall 'Five robots and five humans. I can handle them but…' He was cut off by Sonic, who tapped him on his right shoulder "What?" He asked turning to face him and something else. It was one of those Golden Flying Beetles used for spying or scouting the surroundings; and now it had found them.

Shadow destroyed the robot with a well placed kick on the underside; the sentry sailed to the ceiling, then hit the floor hard making a loud clattering noise and alarming the nearby party. The black hedgehog looked around frantically for a way to escape. His eyes widened as a nearby door opened and a man in white coat walked out; he hastily grabbed Sonic's wrist and kicked the man on his belly. The scientist flew into the room accompanied by the two hedgehogs as the door closed immediately afterwards, saving them from an incoming battle.

The two leaned their ears on the metal door and listened "They fled before we got the change to even see them." One of the men said "Find them! Use the sedative guns to recapture them. I want them back alive!" The voice sounded like it was given off by a radio or something similar, and it was angry "Yes sir!" After some bustling noises the same man spoke again "Very well, men! Have you heard the boss? He wants them back alive, so we have to use only the sedative guns. But beware! Sonic may look weak and injured, but when put under pressure he can be really dangerous." "Yes sir." The others responded departing.

Sonic sighed with relief as he walked away from the door and sat on a chair "Hey Faker, why they are more frightened by you than by me?" He looked up to see Shadow walk to him with eyes half closed; they where expressing total confusion "_I'm _the 'secret weapon'. Not you." The blue hedgehog chuckled softly "Who knows." The black hedgehog raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest "Do I have to believe you?" "Believe what you want, Faker."

Shadow turned to face the door as a group of men passed talking about something 'There's something mysterious in him.' He turned his head a little; Sonic had his eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face, like he had total control over the situation "How can you be so calm?" "Being nervous in these type of situations will only make it worse." He responded keeping his eyes closed and smiling slightly. The black hedgehog's eyes turned back to the door "Maybe it's more than something." He whispered to himself.

Sonic opened his right eye "What's up?" He asked hearing that the black hedgehog was mumbling something to himself. Shadow shook his head and carelessly waved a hand "Nothing at all." Sonic smiled again opening his other eye "Don't lie to me, Shadow. I can understand you better than I can with Tails." The blue hedgehog shifted in the chair "It's strange, but for me you are like an open book."

It was the second time that day that Shadow was speechless 'Sonic, you are not a simple guy that loves adventures.' He sighed and looked around the room, in hope to find something which could change the subject of the speech between them; the last sentence of Sonic made him feel quite uneasy 'How can he understand me so well after only two, maybe three days of friendship?' He stopped dead in his track, pondering at the last word that had formed in his mind.

Shadow smiled for a fraction of a second before frowning; that was something impossible. How could he, the 'bad-guy-who-tried-to-blow-up-the-world', have possibly made friendship with the same person that used to be his enemy? Nobody could possibly have done that. Beside Sonic was being nice just because he was the good guy, right? He knew that he secretly respected the blue hero, but… He mentally sighed and looked around; he had to distract his mind from those thoughts or he would get crazy before he could find an answer for his questions.

The room was a lab with a lot of machines used for test on materials; he knew it because he remembered to see very similar ones in a lab on the ARK. In a corner he saw two plastic bags containing what they were searching for "Hey Sonic! I don't know if it was luck or something else, but we found our shoes and gloves." He said walking over the bag; he grabbed the one containing his things and used his little claws to tear it apart. Sonic turned his head and smiled "I think that was my ability to be on the right spot at the right moment that led us here." He paused, thinking about something "Or it was 'to be on the wrong spot at the wrong moment'?"

The black hedgehog put his shoes back on and instantly remembered Eggman telling him his past experiences with the blue hedgehog; he chuckled amused and opened the second bag. He had found the answer to why Eggman hated so much his blue enemy and why Sonic was always in the right place to meddle in his plans or simply discover what was going to happen "I think that depend on which side a person is." Sonic gave a confused look "What I mean is that for Eggman it would be the second option," He walked to him and handed him his shoes and gloves "and for the rest of the world it would be the first."

Sonic put his shoes on, shrugged and looked up; the smoke in there wasn't so thick "I was talking looking from my point of view. Sometimes it come in handy, but sometime I get into big troubles and end up risking my life more than one time at a day." He said mindlessly putting his gloves up "Oh…" Was the response that he heard. He continued staring at the smoke floating near the ceiling and nearly dozed off. He shook his head and looked at Shadow, who had finished to put back on his gloves "Have any idea?" He asked stretching a little and grimacing for the pain in his legs; they were improving, but it was too slowly. The black hedgehog hummed and looked around 'We can't pass through the air ducts again and I'm not sure if Sonic can fight properly with those wounds.'

Shadow sighed; they were basically stuck in there without a way out. He looked up through the thin layer of smoke and saw the mouth of a rain fire extinguisher 'I don't think that will be of any help, the robots are waterproofed. Still it could give us some advantages, we're more used to strange weathers than humans, and robots, do.' He looked at Sonic "You up for a fight in the rain?" He asked; Sonic shook his head "I really don't know. I may be able to walk and fight, but don't ask me to run at top speed right now." Shadow nodded "Fine by me. If we have to run I'll just give you a lift. Ok?" "Ok."

The black hedgehog took a chair and sat in front of a computer "What are you doing?" Sonic asked nearing him with his seat "I'm going to hack in there and restart the fire alarm program; they were deactivated to prevent them to go off because of the smoke." "You're a _hacker_?!" "A little…"

------------------

Chaos stopped as the loudspeaker grated again "Attention to all personal; the self-destruct sequence is initiated. Forty minutes until end countdown. Evacuate immediately. Repeat…" He left the thing babble the same line and walked away; he had to leave the base before the self-destruction. 

Before he could make the second pass his element started pouring down on him; he looked up and saw that the water was leaking from a strange thing on the ceiling. After studying it for some seconds he looked down; now the floor had a thin layer of water. Whoever had done this, was not his enemy; he knew that they knew that he was in the base and that giving him such a tactical advantage was a suicide. His thought went back to the two fugitives; they said that one of them was blue, so they probably meant that same blue hedgehog that had stopped him.

But where he could be? He had no link with him like the one he had with the chao. He could scan the now inch deep water for disturbance, but the radius would be limited to only a corridor length and maybe some more of the branching off ones. Instead he decided for a more direct search with his eyes and 'ears'; the previous idea would only waste his energies.

He traveled along the maze of corridors, avoiding detection by just melting into the water. Yes, he could have fought his way, but that would waste his energy, even if he had the aid of a Chaos Emerald. He found a corridor without robots or humans and reformed his body; the sensation had returned. It wasn't like the mad hunger of the now dead beings; it was a controlled draining. He decided to follow the trace and discover who was doing this.

Chaos reached a cross intersection; he could hear battling noises came from the corridor at his right. He put his head out of the corner to see what was going on and had to retract it to avoid a flying robot that went skidding on the inch deep water floor; it broke on impact. The beast peered again, and there he was; the blue hedgehog was fighting alongside another hedgehog. And surely, the draining feeling was coming from one of them.

The unknown hedgehog was flung to his way; he landed on his feet and skidded a few feet before returning into the battle. Chaos got a good look before the hedgehog disappeared in the artificial rain; he was a black hedgehog with red strip across his head and limbs, and looked a lot like the blue one. That hedgehog also reminded him of the life forms in that room; maybe it was him who drained from the emerald.

The water being watched the black and red hedgehog fight; he not only was looking like the blue one, but he also had the same techniques, the same fight movements and the same speed. Chaos pondered what to do as the last robot fell to the ground; he was going to decide his move when the ceiling gave in and blocked the way to the hedgehogs. It would be easy to just melt into the water and pass under the rubbles, but something hit him in the brain; his only weak spot. For the shock his body fell apart, and when he reformed he saw a group of human point their stupid arms at him.

Chaos stared at the men "Shoot at his brain!" One of them said; Chaos raised a hand and covered his brain from the rain of bullets and waited. When they stopped he launched himself to the attack. It lasted only a few seconds and the humans where all on the floor unconscious. Chaos looked up from the men and faced a dozen of robots; they only lasted a little longer than the human had done. He looked around, then down at the emerald; the sensation was gone. That meant that the two hedgehogs were gone, and he was right at the start point. He looked at the pile of rubbles that was blocking the passage; then again, he looked down at the emerald. Decision made, he melted in the water and passed under the rubbles; he hoped to find the hedgehogs soon or he would lose them for good. He was determined to discover who the black one was.

------------------

Sonic walked beside Shadow; his legs had improved a bit in the fight, but he still couldn't run. He sighed and looked up, shielding his eyes from the water; he was annoyed. Not only he couldn't run, but also lately it seemed that water was pursuing him on purpose. It started with the storm in the forest meanwhile they were fighting the BioLizard; then he teletransported them right next to a fountain and fell into it, and now _this_. Yes, it was Shadow's idea and he had agreed with it; but he didn't think it would be so annoying. The water had penetrated his fur and the bandages, getting to his wounds; they were itching and hurting at the same time. Not a lovely experience…

The two arrived at another intersection "Which way?" Shadow asked eyeing the three roads; Sonic stepped in the middle of the cross, followed by the other, and looked for something that may tell which way was right "I hate this…" He muttered putting his hands on his hips; he really had no idea where to go. His fur suddenly stood on end as he heard something mechanical start up; it was barely audible through all that water noise. The blue hedgehog faced Shadow, seeing that he too had heard it; Sonic glanced at the left corridor and saw a shielded Hunter appear from behind a corner followed by a squad of humans.

In the little time he had before they started shooting he grabbed Shadow and threw him forwards; the black hedgehog was surprised by the move. He didn't have the time to straighten himself and skidded on the water, getting a mouthful of water; he raised his head and spit the liquid. He rolled on his back as he heard shooting, and saw the blue hedgehog crash on him. The two didn't waste any second and jumped to their feet, running away from the spot "Sonic! Another move like that and I'm going to kill you myself!" Sonic only laughed in response.

"Sonic!" Shadow exclaimed pointing at a huge metal door that was closing in front of them. Sonic shot a grin at his black doppelganger; the ebony hedgehog watched him with a shocked expression. He already saw that grin and he strangely knew what he had in mind "Sonic! W…" He couldn't finish his sentence that the other hedgehog accelerated, taking the lead "Follow me, Shadow! I know the way!"

The two crossed the door when it was in the middle of its track; then Shadow had only to follow Sonic, for he didn't know the way out. They ran, avoiding every robot or human that they encountered; the blue hedgehog even increased his speed as he saw the doors starting to close. The humans wanted to cut off every way of escape; but they were too slow to do that.

Sonic saw the last door at the end of the corridor slowly close and he increased again his speed; his legs started to ache really badly. Now the strain was too much 'Only a little longer…' He let a pained scream leave his throat as he crossed the last few feet and jumped, crossing the door; he rolled on his side on the metal floor for several feet and stopped leaving his back to the now closed entrance.

Shadow managed to cross the door only curling up into a ball; he stopped rolling on the ground and found himself already sat up. He suppressed the urge to just lay down and wait for the world to stop 'Mental note… never do that when tired.' He thought raising; it was the first time that he felt like this after a roll. He looked at his surroundings and silently exulted happily when he saw that they where on the big service elevator, but stopped soon after; that was something unlike him, but again, he kind of liked the sensation. He walked to the controls shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness and took a look. Only six buttons.

The hedgehog sighed and punched the first one. The elevator groaned loudly and started to ascend obliquely, toward the exit; hopefully. Sighing again he let his body and mind relax, and turned as he heard a cough. Sonic was still on the ground were he stopped before; he was slightly curled on his left side and was gently gasping for air. Shadow walked to him and stopped when he raised his left hand and carelessly waved it "I'm fine." He simply said, his hand flopping back and resting on top of his side. The black hedgehog's eyes narrowed at that statement because he knew that the blue hedgehog wasn't fine; he could see that his wounds had started bleeding again, staining the white bandages.

Shadow growled under his breath, wondering why he was so concerned for the other hedgehog and glanced up; the end of the elevator's path was still far away. He looked away when he heard Sonic move; the hero now was sitting up, but was still giving him his back. After a few moments of recollection he tried to stand up, only to give up after three attempts. Shadow walked up to him "Why did you ran like that?" Sonic laid back down and looked up; the black hedgehog was looking at him directly in the eyes "Are you mad?" Shadow's eyes closed halfway in an annoyed mode "I told you that if we needed to run I could carry you. Now I surely have to carry you through _all_ the base." "But you didn't know where to go and if you carried me I wouldn't had enough time to tell you which way to go." "How did you know where to go?" "This base is pretty similar to the one on the island. I remember the track." "Do I really have to believe you?" Sonic just smiled.

------------------

The general looked at the screen of his computer with pure anger in his eyes; a red writing was flashing brightly telling him to evacuate the base in thirty minutes. He tried to erase the command, but the hacker modified the accessing codes needed to do it; he flopped back into the seat and sighed. He had lost another base, but he wasn't going to lose the 'war'.

"General!" A man exclaimed entering in the office; the man at the desk looked up from the screen "Yes?" The man stopped "The fugitives are on the old service elevator to the surface and Chaos is on their trace. It appears that he is interested in them." The general hummed thoughtfully for a few seconds "The old service elevator?" "Yes sir. The one that fell into disuse when the new ones were built. It's very slow so nobody use it anymore." "Then this will give us time to prepare the welcome for the hedgehogs." He chuckled, savoring the opportunity "Evacuate the base and send every remaining robot to the entrance, alongside the last Hot Shot of this base. You have to recapture them before Chaos reaches them. When they are secured take them to the base on Red Island." "Yes Sir." The other responded running away.

The head scientist walked into the room for the second time that day "I just came back from the A1 storage room and look at what I managed to recover." He said handing him a few papers full of diagram "If I am correct, these are the growth diagram of the failed specimens, right?" He said examining them "Yes. When Chaos fused with the emerald, activating it, the specimens started to grow abnormally. Maybe that's why Chaos destroyed everything." The general nodded in agreement.

"What can you save with only twenty-five minutes?" The scientist smiled "The papers and the CDs are all on a folder in my office, and for the files on the main computer… well, I can use the one in my office to send them to the base on Red Island." "Ok, I count on you for that." The scientist nodded and departed.

The general sighed once more; that day had proved to be a real hellish one. He never faced so much problems in only one time; he cursed the hedgehogs for being so stubborn, in particular the blue one, Chaos for his bad timing and the hacker for giving him only half a hour to evacuate the base and save the salvable. He raised from the chair and put the valuable things into his overnight case and left the room; luckily his office and the one of his friend were on the first floor, so they had more time at their disposal.

His thought shifted again to the cursed hedgehog 'Damn you, hedgehog… damn you!'

------------------

Shadow was sitting cross legged with his arms folded on his chest, waiting for the ride to end. He glanced at his double; he was napping on the metal floor without worries. The ride was long and tranquil, and looking at the oblique conduct, it was going to be tranquil for another five minutes. Shadow suppressed a yawn without success "Hmm… What time is it?" Sonic asked waking up; the ebony hedgehog shrugged "Who knows. But you slept only for a few minutes." The blue hedgehog rubbed his eyes a little "And we are still on this thing?" "It appears that the base is deep and the floors are well distant between them, not to mention the slowness of the elevator. The panel tells that we are between the second and third floor." Sonic sat up and turned his head to face Shadow "And nobody attacked us?" The other hedgehog shrugged again, not knowing what to say.

Sonic laid back on the ground "Hey, Shadow!" The black hedgehog looked up from a seemingly interesting spot on the ground "What?" "When this story ends, we're gonna take a great holiday!" His voice was joyful "We?" Sonic rolled on his belly, crossed his arms and put his chin on them "Yes, why?" "Why would you take me, a rival, with you?" Sonic smiled "I don't deny that you are my greatest rival, but you deserve to have a holiday after all this. And I know the best places for that." "And you still want to take me with you?" "Heesh! What's the problem? Are you afraid that I could kill you to be the only supersonic hedgehog around?" "_You_ kill _me_? Ah! That's something impossible! You're too goodhearted to do that. I, instead, could take advantage of your conditions right now to kill you." "Then do it." Shadow was really shocked; Sonic had said these three very words with such simplicity and carelessness that he told him that he wasn't joking "What?" "If you believe that you can do that, then kill me." The black hedgehog looked at Sonic's confident eyes, then he lowered his head and closed his eyes in defeat "I… I can't." Sonic said nothing, but smiled knowingly "Still… I'm not your friend." He muttered nearly scared "Too late, Shadow. You're already my friend. Whether you like it or not." He said stretching and closing his eyes.

Shadow looked up at him; Sonic was right. And the proof laid on the scare that he took when they were into the ducts "Alright Sonic, I'm looking forward for this vacation." He whispered smiling; he was starting to get fond of him "You will not regret it." Shadow's eyes widened as soon as he heard Sonic talk; the blue hedgehog had picked up his whisper "And we'll finally find out who the best hedgehog is." The black hedgehog smiled; he was feeling happy again. He had found a new friend.

Finally after another five minutes of ride the elevator came to an end and Sonic stood up "Are you sure you can walk on your own?" "Yeah, my legs recovered well from the precedent strain." He answered walking to the door "See?" Shadow walked beside him "Just don't strain up again like before." "Are you preoccupied for me?" Shadow grumbled under his breath "C'mon, Shadow. Tell me! Are you preoccupied for me?" "Shut up!" Sonic laughed a bit at the ebony hedgehog's rambling words. The other mumbled something and punched a button; the door opened slowly revealing nothing more than an empty floor. The water had stopped pouring down and little grates on the side of the corridors quickly drained the leftover that was on the floor. They stepped into it "Sonic, this is too strange. I thought that at this point they would attack…" Sonic was deep in thoughts "Then we have to not let our guard down. I saw the eyes of that man… he want us, and he will do everything that's in his power to accomplish this task."

They crossed the first floor of the base without encountering robots or humans, and finally reached the only exit. Sonic stopped; his eyes narrowing to almost a slit "This is it…" He turned "Are you ready to face an entire army?" Shadow looked back at him, not sure if he could do something like that. Yes, he could take care of almost everything, but an entire army was something too big even for him; he opened his mouth and closed it as the blue hedgehog made his famous grin "Shadow, if you follow me, then I will make sure that you'll get out of here safe and sound."

The ebony hedgehog looked at the far away open door; there was no light coming through it, so it meant that it was night "Sonic, you surely know that an entire army is too much even for the two of us… but still… I will follow you. I want to know if you are right or not." He said slowly walking away. Sonic walked beside him "You know, this could be also our end… there are many risk… we could lose our life, or worse… lose our freedom." "Why are you so attached to freedom?" "Because it's my true nature. If I didn't love it so much then I never would have started fighting Eggman, and I never would be who I am." He paused a little, seeing that they were near the opening "But again, it was my very choice to do it… I could have left the entire story to the government."

Shadow glanced at him with his eye "So in the end, it's always freedom to you, right?" "Yes Shadow, my life is based on freedom. I choose to fight not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because it's my choice. I fight… for life… for freedom… and for myself." "Then if you lose here, you will lose your very essence." "Then I have one more reason to not lose."

The two hedgehogs stepped out in the open field, watching as hundreds of Hunters raised their stun guns at them, and half of them were equipped with the shield. A Hot Shot landed in front of the robots "Surrender and we will not harm you." The pilot said somewhat scared to face the two hedgehogs. Sonic lowered his head and folded his arms, snickering; but he stopped soon and raised his head towards the mech, putting his most feared grin. A combination of confidence, resolution and knowledge "Make me."

Shadow never saw that grin on the other hedgehog's face, but he had the sensation to know what it meant; he was also shocked to seed that the big mech backed off "C-capture them!" The pilot commanded retreating to a safe distance; he had seen the eyes of the blue hedgehog and was scared to see what was going to happen to him. Everyone knew to not piss him off for he could get really dangerous; not even Eggman dared to do it personally. The mad scientist knew by a past experience what Sonic could do when angry and under pressure.

Sonic briefly glanced around, then he returned it to the robots "Shadow, can you see the hangar that's to the left of us?" He whispered not taking away his eyes from the mob of Hunters. The black hedgehog occasionally glanced at his left and nodded "Yeah." "Get ready to fight through the robots, I'm sure that they have a plane or something similar in there."

The robots started to advance, closing the space between them and the targets; when they were a few yards from them, ready to capture the two fugitives, and Sonic and Shadow ready for running, the base exploded. Every plan that was put on the ground by the two sides was ruined, and the two hedgehogs found themselves flying away, alongside the robots.

When Shadow felt again the ground, he opened his eyes, surveying the surroundings. A big hole was now claiming the space where the base was; bright yellow flames were sprouting from the metal rubbles and black smoke was raising to the starred sky. The heat was almost unbearable 'I forgot about the self-destruction that I had initiated…'

The black hedgehog sat up, looking out for his friend. He found something blue amongst the fallen robots "Sonic?" He called hoping that the blue hedgehog was still alive. Seeing that he didn't move he began to somewhat panic and rapidly walked over to him.

Sonic was laying on his side; back facing the crumpled base. Shadow kneeled at his side and lightly shook him; to his relief the blue hedgehog muttered something about a truck and lazily opened his eyes "Sonic, are you ok?" The ebony hedgehog asked checking his friend for injuries; he found none besides the ones covered by the bandages "Sort of…" He responded sitting up and massaging his back. Shadow stood up and looked around "I think that the Goddess of Fortune love us." "Yeah. In my life I discovered that fortune and supersonic hedgehogs go on really well with each other."

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he felt that something was missing "Shadow, what's up?" Sonic asked raising to his feet "I don't know… I feel that something is missing…" He said still looking around; the blue hedgehog did the same. The only things that they could see were robots and big pieces from the base everywhere; it was a miracle that nothing hit the two. Then, in sudden realization, Shadow spoke "Where's the Hot Shot?"

Sonic's eyes widened when he heard a cracking noise "RUN!" He yelled before the Hot Shot shoot out of the debris and a good chunk of the robots reactivated. The two hedgehogs ran towards the remaining hangar and locked themselves into it "Sonic! You know that this will only give us a bunch of seconds before the robots burst into there, right?" "I know Shadow, that's why we're gonna use this to escape from here!" Sonic exclaimed pointing a fighter plane with two seats. Shadow looked at the monstrosity then to Sonic, who was climbing in the front seat "Sonic…?" He asked uncertain if he should follow him. The blue hedgehog looked back at him and grinned "Don't worry! I'm not good like Tails, but I can fly these things." He said securing the belts and turning the engine on "Now, climb in there." He finished pointing the seat behind his.

Shadow looked at the plane, unsure if the blue hedgehog could actually fly something like that, but after hearing the bangs on the hangar's door he quickly accomplished the request; he secured himself with the belts like Sonic had done and watched the glass hatch close upon them "Sonic, how do you plan to get out of here?" He asked seeing that there was no exit. Sonic looked at the stick and smirked upon seeing the red, inviting button. The plane was already facing the door so the blue hedgehog had only to wait the right opportunity; when the door burst open he trigged the button and the fighter started shooting; every mech on the plane's range was brutally destroyed by the bullets "Serves you right!" He exclaimed taking the plane out into open field.

Shadow had to slightly stretch his body to look out of the glass; he saw other robots rounding the corner "Sonic! The robots!" He urgently said. The other hedgehog looked briefly at the enemies and muttering something under his breath he pulled the lever to its full extent. The plane shoot forwards, barely missing the enemy's fire, and after a few hundred yards the monstrosity raised into the night sky.

"Out off all things, I never would have expected you to be able to fly such a plane, Sonic." Shadow said laying back in the seat; Sonic chuckled "Living alone makes you learn many things even if you don't want to." "You lived alone?" "Yes, for almost two years." "Sonic, living alone only two years…" He stopped as he heard a sniffle come from the blue hedgehog "Sonic?" "Shadow, you asked me many time who I am, right? Now you will receive that answer." The black hedgehog perked up in his seat "Then tell me, Sonic. Who are you?" Finally he was getting that answer; finally he would know why he looked so alike him and why he possessed every move and ability that he had.

The occasion was ruined as a blip came from the console in front of Sonic "What's up?" He asked worriedly; he didn't know how a fighter worked, so he didn't liked the steady blip "Get ready, Shadow. We have company." "How many?" "Ten of them…" The other responded flatly. Sonic looked at a little screen where the enemy formation was showed. Another blip resounded in the air as the computer picked up the enemy lock on "So they want to fight, uh? Very well…" The blue hedgehog murmured annoyed. He pulled the lever to himself and the plane shoot upwards.

The plane completed a loop and the two hedgehogs got a good look of the enemy "Blue Eagles." Shadow murmured seeing the dark blue fighters "Blue Eagles?" "Yes, they are smaller fighters and don't need a pilot because they are AI controlled." Sonic smirked "Then this will be their downfall!" He pushed the button on the stick and the plane started to fire; the robots scattered but two were hit and exploded into mid air 'Two down, eight to go.'

The plane turned to the left, following two robots, and after some second of pursuing he shoot them down. Seeing that he was looked on Sonic made a sharp turn and avoided the enemy's fire; he circled them and when he was on their tail he shoot again. One of them was fully hit and plummeted to the ground; the other was hit only on the wing, making it unable to turn, thus making it unable to avoid a nearby cliff "Four to go!" The blue hero exclaimed looking for the other robots; he saw two of them to his right. They were coming directly towards them; and he decided something that would be dangerous but would also give him a good chance to hit them. He turned the plane towards them and started shooting. One of them was hit and got out of control; the robot touched the other and made it go upward. The first smashed to the ground and the second hit another robot, causing an explosion in the air. Now only one remained.

The computer told Sonic that the enemy was aiming at them from behind "Oh holy shit!" He exclaimed as the Blue Eagle's AI launched two missiles at them. His eyes widened and he felt cold sweat run down his back; he quickly pulled the lever to the left, making the plane roll two times on its axis. Shadow screamed in surprise and dug his feet on the internal sides of the plane meanwhile he grabbed the sides of the seat with his hands "SONIC! NEXT TIME WARN ME!" He yelled to the other hedgehog "Sorry bud!" He quickly apologized.

The blue hedgehog saw the missiles turn around and come directly towards them "Shadow! Prepare for the worst!" He said pulling a little lever on his console; it was marked black and yellow, and under it there was the red writing 'Eject'. The glass dome was blew away and the two were shoot upwards; soon after the plane exploded as it came in contact with the two missiles.

Shadow stifled a scream as he started to descend towards the ground; he guessed that the fall would be a few miles long and that the landing would be rather painful, if not deathly, but he was relieved when something stopped his free fall. He looked up to see a red parachute; he sighed and let his body relax meanwhile the light wind carried him to the east "Shadow! How is it?" He heard a faint voice call over the night silence. He looked at his left and saw Sonic "Fine, I guess! You?" He called back "Nothing that a good rest can recover!" The blue hedgehog answered laughing a little.

The black hedgehog landed pretty well, but the parachute covered him "Hey! Where's the exit?" He started to move under it, but tripped and fell on his belly "Argh!" Shadow rolled on his back, making the situation worse than before. He stopped struggling as he heard a muffled laugh "Shut up!" He exclaimed as he recognized the owner; he took some deep breath and tried again to free himself. He was relived when his right hand felt the cold night air; he also felt Sonic's hands that were trying to enlarge the hole.

The hole got big enough to let Shadow put his head out of the hellish bundle; he sighed relieved and looked at the blue hedgehog. Sonic saw the expression that his double had on his face and had to try hard to not explode with laughters. The black hedgehog watched as his friend forced himself to stay silent with little success; that was a very uncommon sight for him.

A few moments passed in total silence, then the two started snickering; Sonic cleared his throat and managed to somewhat stop, but another look at the bundled hedgehog made the things worse, and soon he was laughing out loud. Shadow followed the blue hedgehog when he saw him collapse on the ground clutching his stomach.

-------------------

Knuckles peeked out of the manhole keeping the lid as low as possible; he saw the train station right in front of him "Is the way clear?" His companion asked looking at him; he looked around for a few seconds then looked at the white bat "Yeah, but I don't know if there are hidden agents." "Shall we take the risk?" "I don't know. We could ride the train back to Station Square, then take the one for the ruins; but it'll be risky." He paused sighing "But again it's the fastest way."

Rouge thought about it for a few moments; then an idea struck her mind "Say, Knuckles. Are you famous?" She asked. The red echidna was taken aback by that question "Well, I don't know for sure. But many people know me to be the Guardian of the Master Emerald."

The bat nodded "We can use this to our advantage. They can't attack us meanwhile we're in public or else everyone will know that something big is up." She explained. The Guardian looked at her and smiled "Good idea, but we have to keep our guard up. Who know what they'll try." He said lifting the heavy lid that was blocking the way.

Knuckles sat in the train next to Rouge, so far they didn't encountered nobody hostile; and he didn't felt observed or followed "Say, Rouge. What's exactly in there?" He asked pointing the folder in Rouge lap. She opened it and started shifting sheets upon sheets until she found some tied together. She lifted the first blank page and read the second "It's some sort of report that Gerald made upon a failed project." She said. Knuckles leaned over to read it as she shifted to the third page.

__

ULF-Project  
Current subject species: LizardStatus: Suspended  
The embryo of the lizard is responding badly to the exposure of the Chaos Energy. It grew too much and I had to put it in stasis before it could destroy the entire ARK in its quest for other Chaos Energy.

ULF-Project  
Current subjects species: Hedgehog  
Status: Active  
I finally understood why the lizard responded so badly at the exposure. Now the two new specimens are responding very well to the different exposures.

ULF-Project  
Current subjects species: Hedgehog  
Status: Active  
After four years of continuous exposures I tried to shift place of the two specimens. I never should have done that. Energy readings went crazy and every machine in the lab exploded. The two specimens entered in a deep coma for four months. However, now the two subjects have balanced energy. I never would have imagined that I could create such powerful creatures.

ULF-Project  
Current subjects species: Hedgehog  
Status: Active  
S-01 is badly eyeing the BioLizard in its stasis tube. Every time that he goes near it he fold his ears and growls. I think that he see it like a danger. S-02 just gets nervous and covers behind S-01 or flees.

ULF-Project  
Current subjects species: Hedgehog  
Status: Deleted  
S-01 died in an incident. I will not create another specimen. S-02 will do fine for my goal. For many reasons I had to totally change the projects' names. Now this will be called Project Shadow; from the name of the S-02 specimen.

The train stopped at Station Square's station. Rouge closed the folder and looked at Knuckles "Do you think what I'm thinking?" "Yes, Rouge." He said looking at her; after a brief moment of stare they nodded and stood up.

-------------------

It's incredible. More I go and more I write.  
Anyway liked the chapter?  
I'm sure that you want know how this will evolve. But I'm gonna say only this. 

Wait for the ninth chapter:  
'Make Thy Path Through Deep Dangers'

Az


	9. Make Thy Path Through Deep Dangers

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine. 

**Authoress' note:** Sorry people! I had a little hellish Writer's Block! I hope you all forgive me for the fact that I jumped not one, but two times the update of this fic. I promised myself that I would follow the little scheme but I couldn't keep it up.

**Anyway, I'm finally rewriting the first four chapters, and the first one will be posted at the same time as this. So I suggest that you go and read it!**

**Arken Elf:** You really think that's one of the best? And that I thought that it wasn't because of my little Writer's Block Thanks again!

**RichaCo:** That's what I exactly wanted to do with that chapter, makes the others wonder with so many questions.  
- For Chaos I only tell you that he will have a hard time.  
- 'S-01' you say? *Open the top secret folder* Umm S-01 S-01 *start reading* Oh yeah! *Close the folder* You will probably find that answer in this chapter.  
- For Knuckles and Rouge I have a little plan that's coming in my mind right now *Laughs darkly*  
- For the update soon thing well, I really, really appreciate that you long for the next chapter so much, and I will do my best to keep the updates near each other.

**HEY! I need reviews!** You all knows that they keep me going better and they shorten the time distance between one and another chapter. So people, support me with your comments!

Anyway, I'm babbling too much now, so here the next chappy!

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CHAPTER NINE

Make Thy Path Through Deep Dangers

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It was a sunny morning in the neutral chao garden; a man stepped into it with three chao in his arms "Here we go. You're home now." He said lowering the three on the ground. He stood up and walked away, but was stopped short as the dark chao called for him. The sergeant turned around and saw the three bows politely; he smiled and stroked their head "Nothing." He said raising and leaving the garden. He had a last mission to do; he had to report to the president about GUN's intention.

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Even if the sun was not at its peak, it was already hot, and Shadow didn't say a word so far. He was too busy in not collapsing right there; his black fur was capturing more heat than the blue one of his friend. Sonic, upon seeing that his friend had more labored breathings than him, decided to look for some repair where the heat would be lesser. He stopped, surveying the surrounding area for a piece of shade; he sighed as he saw nothing 'If this goes on we'll be roasted hedgehogs for the few insect that lives here.'

Shadow was feeling tired; too tired to even stay awake. He closed his eyes and let a soft groan escape his lips when he felt himself swaying on the spot; he would have fell on the ground if it wasn't for two hands that promptly clasped his shoulders, stabilizing him. He opened his eyes to see Sonic looking at him with concern in his eyes "I'm fine Sonic." He managed to say. The blue hedgehog raised an eyebrow and was going to say something when his ears moved, picking up a rumor. 

Still not releasing Shadow's shoulders, Sonic looked around. There was nothing besides the rocks; yet he could clearly hear a faint noise that was not natural 'They're stalking us. I can't see them, but I can hear them they forgot that we have a better hearing than humans do.' He looked at his friend. The ebony hedgehog nodded; he knew that there was something wrong only looking at Sonic's eyes. The blue hero released his black friend and started walking in silence with Shadow behind him.

A few minutes of walking passed and the noise increased 'They're preparing for attack. And I don't know if we can repel it.' Sonic thought hearing the intensification of the movements. He observed the surroundings; they were in an open territory, a bad place to get attacked. Then, like if it wasn't enough for them to have robots following them, a far away cry reached their ears. Stopping for a moment he looked at Shadow, who was nervously looking around "It's her." He muttered.

It was still; too still for them. Their hearts started pounding fast into their chests, preparing for the worst, and their senses were put into full alert for the littlest sign of danger. The annoying hum of the flying robots was the only noise around. Few moments passed, although for the two hedgehogs were like an eternity, and all hell broke lose. A crackling noise preceded an explosion that took place only a few yards from them; from the shock of it the robots unveiled themselves "GUN has given the concealing shield even to the other robots" Shadow muttered eyeing the big squadron of Hunters and Gun Hawks that immediately surrounded them.

"No time to wonder, Shadow. We have to get out of here at once!" Sonic took an offensive stance; his ears perked up as he heard another crackling sound "Duck!" He exclaimed throwing himself on the ground. The explosion was big enough to take out almost a third of the enemy squadron; glancing around he saw that his black friend was covering his head from the falling debris "And what next?" He asked.

As if on clue the earth started to shake; the two looked at each other briefly and stood up. They started to run as fast as their tired legs could carry them; unfortunately it wasn't enough and the ground under their feet gave in. The hedgehogs fell, letting out yells that echoed in the darkness.

-------------------

The general looked out of the window of his office located on Red Island "Lost?" "Yes, sir. Our ambush was ruined by umm 'something' and the ground collapsed. They're probably dead by now." A soldier said. The general thought for a moment "What are the orders, sir?" "Send a new squad of robots and one of the second unit and dig out the bodies." "Yes sir." The soldier said saluting and exiting the room.

The man turned around and looked at the papers on the desk; one of them was labeled _ULF-Project_ 'They could be still alive. At least one of them. He was supposed to become a top-secret military weapon, thus he can't be killed so easily.'

-------------------

A rock clattered down the hole as something involuntarily pushed it; her long neck lowered in the forty feet deep pit and a growl of frustration left her throat as she felt that they were still alive but unattainable. A distant sound caught her attention and she raised her head out of the hole; it was an artificial noise.

She growled again; the humans were coming fast. They absolutely didn't have to see that she was still alive or else her plans would be spoiled; now she was free of her initial program and this gave her the liberty to think and to choose what to do. And she had many plans going into her mind.

She glanced back into the pit; for the moment her plan about the hedgehogs would have to wait. She let out something that would have been a sigh and disappeared in a white light. For the moment she would have to rest and recover with the aid of the purple Chaos Emerald on her home; on Ark.

-------------------

The first thing that he knew was that he was somewhere cold and damp; he could hear soft breathings near him "Sonic?" No response 'Must be unconscious.' He sighed and let the darkness take over him again.

~~~~~~~~~~  
He was lying on a metal table, securely strapped to it by leather belts. He opened his eyes and faced three shrouded figures; his vision was badly blurred, but he managed to recognize one of them 'Professor Gerald.' He thought blinking a few times to focus his vision.

"Result?" Gerald asked "Like the first specimen." Another responded "Then why in battle he fall first?" The first asked looking at Gerald, who shrugged helplessly "I think it's because S-01 is more strong willed." He sighed and looked at the hedgehog "You know, _they_ will not like this. They'll probably force me to dispose of this specimen in favor of the first. And he _will _not like it." "You mean S-01?" A third person asked; the professor sighed "Yeah."

The black hedgehog tried to talk, but he only managed to emit an incomprehensible series of words; his mouth wasn't working in tune with his mind "He's coming around faster than we expected." One said looking down "Give him another dose of sedative." The other said. Shadow felt a needle in his arm and grunted. After a bunch of seconds the drug started to slowly take its effect on his body and he stopped struggling; he sighed and closed his eyes. Still, he could clearly hear the scientists talking about the consequences of his disposal upon this S-01 guy.

The door suddenly hissed and someone entered "Professor! We lost S-01!" He said "How? He was locked in an empty room!" "I know. But he managed to squirm his way out through the air ducts." "Then what are you doing still here?" Gerald asked angrily "Go and look for him with the sedative guns!" "But" "GO!" He yelled. The black hedgehog could hear the men leave, everyone but Gerald.

"I know that he'll be here shortly for you and I _want_ to know what he has in mind" He said to the unmoving hedgehog; soon enough something metallic clattered on the ground. He tried to open his eyes to see who it was but his eyelids were too heavy; he felt his straps being untied by someone "Shadow!" A young male voice exclaimed.

His grasp on consciousness slipped and the last thing that he heard was the young male call for him again "Shadow?" This time it was another voice that called his name, and was a familiar one.  
~~~~~~~~~~

Shadow suddenly sat upright, knocking who was calling him; he looked around. Pure darkness. Someone groaned audibly "Sonic?" He called not knowing where the other landed "Right in front of you." The blue hedgehog responded "Made a bad dream?" He asked after a few seconds of silence. Shadow thought for some moments "Sort of I think that I recalled a memory of my past." There was a long pause before Sonic spoke again "Good for you."

Shadow looked in the direction from where the other's voice came; he said it with his normal tone but in it he heard a little of sarcastic and envy "Sonic?" "Hm?" "What's bugging you?" "Nothing." "No Sonic. There's something bugging you. I can hear it from the tone of your voice. It was slightly different than your usual one."

This time the pause lasted for more than a bunch of seconds; then there was a deep sigh "I envy you, Shadow! I damn envy you!" "Why?" The black hedgehog was confused 'Why would he envy me? He has everything!' "I" Sonic started, earning his double's attention "I knew that this would come out sooner or later," A sad chuckle "But I would never imagine that it would come out with you"

"Who am I, you ask? Well, here's my answer. I don't know!" Shadow stared in the darkness as Sonic continued "Five years ago I woke up in a field, I was covered in cuts and bruises and the only thing that I could remember was my name." He paused and bit his lip, though the other hedgehog couldn't see that "I was alone, Shadow. I passed a year fighting for my own survival in a world that I didn't even know. I instantly started traveling trying to find my family or someone that could recognize me, but I never found one. As the days passed, I particularly didn't mind that situation. I was free, and I really liked that."

He paused again to calm down; it was always a pain when he remembered his first two years on the world "But the lack of a family, or at least of a real friend to talk to, was starting to get to me. After a year of unfruitful travels I returned to the island I first woke up in hope to find something that could tell me who I was, but the only thing that I found was Eggman; he was in search of the Chaos Emeralds, and I decided to stop him. After that, I became famous." He stopped and Shadow heard a sniffle "Still I was alone. Until a year later when in one of my travels I meet Tails, who became the family I never had." His voice was broken and quivered.

The black hedgehog lowered his head 'Only now I understand that I am lucky. Even if fifty years ago I lost everything, I still have my memory. I know who I am, from where I come, but he?' He looked up as he heard the other hedgehog raise to his feet and search for something on his person 'Never would I imagine that under that happy go lucky personality there would be such sadness.' "Sonic, I" "No Shadow, don't feel sorry for me. Never ever do _that_!" A little pause to take a breath "Don't ever look at me with those compassionate eyes!"

There was a sudden flash and the cavern lit up with a very soft light; there were little crystals, some big like a fist, all over the place that were reflecting the light that came from a little torch that was in Sonic's right hand. Shadow was momentarily distracted by the beauty of the scenery, until another sniffle brought him back; walking up to him he put a hand on the other hedgehog's left shoulder and turned him around.

He was slightly taken aback and for some strange reasons he knew that he was the only one that ever saw Sonic crying; the blue hedgehog lowered his head and started chuckling in a strange way. He brought his left hand over his eyes and chuckled more intensely; Shadow looked at him strangely, but his eyes softened as he saw that the tears increased in numbers.

The chuckle died to let the sobs take place "Why can't I stop?" He asked sobbing quietly; he looked up to see the soft stare of his friend "How" Another sob "Did you managed to make me talk?" Shadow didn't answer and let the blue hedgehog unburden freely. He lowered his head again and tried to suppress the crying; after a few moments he slowly collapsed on the ground "God I-I am such a fool crying for something that's in the past"

The black hedgehog kneeled and put a hand on the blue one's shoulder "Sonic, crying don't means that you're a fool. Everyone sometimes cry." He put up a light smile "Hell I cried too. And more than one time." Sonic quivered and sniffled again "I'm such a fool" He muttered closing his eyes and letting the tears fall. Shadow smiled again and friendly hugged his double patting him on his back; he felt the other hedgehog finally give in to the simple urge to cry openly. After he finally calmed down he released him and placed a hand on his shoulder "C'mon Sonic, we better get going before they discover that we are still alive."

Sonic smiled and stood up; he wiped the last tears away "You know, Shadow? I feel better than before." He turned "Having finally talked with someone about this lifted a great weight from my heart." He paused "I thank you for this, but can it be keep between us?" The black hedgehog stood up "Sure thing, Sonic." "Promise?" "Promise."

Sonic turned off the torch and clasped it back on his right wrist "Tell me a thing" He pointed the bracelet-like torch "Where that comes from?" The blue one smiled and shoed it back into the folds of his glove "From here. I always take it with me and it really comes in handy. Tails made it especially for me."

Shadow looked at the cavern's crystals "Say are these Light Crystals? I saw a little piece once, they told me that it was something alive and rare." "If I'm corrected the crystal is only the product of a bacteria. It's something like the bees and their hives." The black hedgehog hummed "I hope that the GUN will not ruin this beauty." "Don't worry. They were proclaimed protected some years ago so GUN can't sell it." Shadow looked at him strangely "And how do you know it? You're not the type to follow documentary or something regarding the scientific field." "Tails explained me when we heard the news."

Sonic surveyed the cavern; there was a crack right over their heads. They probably fell from there "Hey Shadow. How much underground do you think we are?" He asked pointing the crack. Shadow looked up "Well I'm not sure. We could be several feet down or more." The blue hedgehog sighed "At least GUN will be off from us for quite a while." The ebony one hummed in agreement. Sonic looked at the walls and saw an opening big enough for them to walk through; it was on the far end of the cave "I guess that's our only choice" He said walking to it. Shadow followed, but he let his mind wander 'Who's S-01? I already recalled every memory of my past when I remembered my true promise to Maria, but the ones regarding this S-01 seems to be blocked'

The two walked into the natural tunnel in silence with the blue hedgehog in the lead; Shadow looked at a span sized crystal at his right and for a second he thought that he saw a face, but it left his mind too soon to be able to understand who it belonged to. The ebony hedgehog backtracked to the time when he was in the capsule in the GUN's lab and he remembered when Gerald called him with the S-02 acronym.

'If I was called that then this S-01 was surely someone that came before me that means that I had' The sudden realization made him stop and talk out loud "A brother" And probably the face that he thought to have seen in the crystals was of this S-01. Sonic stopped as he heard the other talk; he turned around and saw that Shadow was looking at him deep in thought. He raised an eyebrow "What?" His companion snapped out of it for a second then he resumed his thinking.

The ebony hedgehog looked at his blue doppelganger and that specific idea got stronger 'I know that back then I was sure that someone survived. Now, that someone was probably this S-01, my brother' He shifted a little in his position, his eyes still on the hedgehog in front of him 'What if he got a family?' Now he knew it; he knew who Sonic was 'Everything fits perfectly. His strength, his speed, his abilities and his look Now I'm sure of it. Sonic is the descendant of my brother.'

"Shadow, what's up?" The black hedgehog snapped out of his thinking and pondered what he should do 'No this is not the right time to tell him' "Nothing important. Really." "If you say so" Sonic said turning and resuming the walk; he knew that Shadow had something in his head, and it regarded him in some ways 'I'm sorry, Sonic. But if I tell you, you will probably not believe me.' He balled his hands into fists 'But I promise you that when the right time comes I will tell you everything.' And he resumed waking behind the blue hedgehog.

After ten minutes or so of walking they came out into another cavern; it was smaller than the first one and contained a fifty deep pool of water. Sonic walked on the edge and looked down; on the bottom, hidden by the mud, he could see a brick surface. There were also some statues representing a strange beast; it was a hedgehog with upward quills like him, but it had wings and a long and thin tail. Its hands and feet were armed with sharp talons; its muzzle was one inch long with a very short nose. The mouth was open, showing its long razor sharp teeth and its body was crouched, like it was going to launch itself on a prey. The wings had only a line of long and sharp feathers that resembled a blade; the last five were bent and positioned like a hand.

There was also an underwater hallway "I'm getting really tired of water" Sonic muttered sitting cross-legged and watching the bottom; he sighed and flopped down on his back. Shadow looked around the cave "Maybe there's another way out" The cavern was bare of exits "Or maybe not" He concluded sitting on the cold surface.

"Then that's it. We have to go down there." "Uhhh Sonic?" The blue hedgehog looked at him; Shadow seemed a little embarrassed "What?" "You'll probably don't believe me but I don't know how to swim." Sonic's eyes widened in shock and he stared at him for a second before sitting up "Then I guess that you will earn it today." It was Shadow's turn to widen his eyes "Wait! You're gonna drag me in?!" Sonic stood up and stretched "Only if you don't want to come." Shadow gulped "You're kidding me, right?" The blue hedgehog shook his head and looked in the other's ruby eyes "No."

Shadow stood up and sighed "Then I guess I have no other choice" He kneeled on the edge and put a hand in it; the water was shockingly cold. He stood up again and hesitated 'I can't do it' "Yes you can." He turned around too see that Sonic was behind him with a reassuring smile "Don't tell me you read me again, am I right?"

Sonic changed the smile into a grin "Yes, and you want to know? There's a less painful way to do it." Shadow raised an eyebrow "And that is?" "This!" The other exclaimed as he showed his friend into the pool; the black hedgehog started to reel into the water, until he disappeared under the surface. Sonic shook his head and head dived in with a graceful motion.

The water was tinted green and there were much less crystals; everything was covered by kelps and the statues were badly ruined by the water. Shadow looked up to see the faint figure of Sonic approach him at a high velocity; he was swimming like a dolphin would do and he seemed to be good at it. The blue hedgehog extended a hand and gripped his arm; he turned around and swam up. When the two broke the surface near the edge Shadow quickly gripped it "Next time warn me" He said coughing to get rid of the small amount of water that nearly reached his lungs "If I told you then you would have avoided my shove." The black hedgehog looked at him "Exactly." He responded almost flatly.

A few moment of silence passed between them, then they started to chuckle; soon the chuckle transformed into a full-blown laugh "You you should have seen your face right before I shoved you in!" A pause to take a deep breath "Total shock!" And he resumed his laughs. The black hedgehog tried to suppress his laughs, but ended only with the opposite effect.

Shadow didn't exactly know why he was laughing like this; a few days ago he was a cold hearted person, and now he was literally choking with his own laughers. He knew Sonic only by a few days, but he was the only person that he knew most; it was strange, but he felt like he knew him by much more time than those few days. Maybe it was because Sonic had a very bright and open personality. He showed his thoughts aside and let the laughs fully take over him; he didn't care about why he felt that way, he just cared about the fact that now he had a friend that managed to revive his heart with no apparent effort.

Finally the two managed to stop "You know Sonic? I never laughed so hard in my life." The other yawned "I think that if you stick with me then you can laugh like this more often." Shadow chuckled "Well, you seems to attract not only problems, but also funny situations like me being bundled up into that parachute it took me a good half a hour to get out of that." "Well, you have to thank me for helping you out" "But if you just kept laughing for the entire operation!" "Look that you laughed for the first fifteen minutes too!" "I was laughing because you were laughing, and the faces that you involuntary put up when you tried to suppress the laughs were too funny!"

Sonic chuckled again and put his hands up "Ok, ok! I admit that! But it was too funny to see you like that! Too bad that I hadn't a camera I wanted so badly to take a picture" He said swimming away from the border. Shadow looked at him and sighed "I guess that now we have to go." Sonic nodded and swam back to him, giving him his back "I'll carry you since I am a better swimmer than you." Shadow nodded and put his arms around the blue one.

Sonic swam near the vertical of the underwater path and prepared to take a deep breath "Make thy path through deep dangers." He whispered "What?" "Nothing. Are you ready?" He felt a nod "Ok, on three." After the word three was spoken the two took huge breath and went underwater.

Shadow noted that Sonic started swimming alternating his feet, then, when he picked up enough speed, he switched to the dolphin style that he saw before; with that the speed increased more. Sonic leveled his swim course to be parallel to the ground and entered in the hallway; pitch dark. He stopped and quickly took out the little torch. He switched it on and was grateful that whoever built this embed the crystal into a line on the ceiling so it could illuminate it. The blue hedgehog put away the torch again as he saw that the crystals 'fed' each other thus making the entire hallway enlightened.

The two traveled forward until the blue hedgehog stopped; in front of him there were three ways and only one of them was the right one. Sonic decided to take the one at his front and resumed swimming; he dearly hoped that there would be air soon or they would drown. Looking ahead he saw that the corridor was going upwards and that at the end there was a pool of air; with a hint of a smile he increased his speed again and soon their heads broke the water surface.

The two panted for a few moments to regain their breaths, and when they were done they looked around. They where into a little room that resembled a office of some sort; it was a mess, but everything was well preserved "Where the hell are we?" Shadow asked as he eyed the room. Sonic shook his head "Who knows." He swam forwards and put down his feet as he felt that the water got shallow; the black hedgehog unlatched his arms from the other's neck and followed him "But maybe we can find something that can tell were we are and were to go."

Shadow nodded and went to a shelf filled with books meanwhile Sonic went to the desk with a stock of papers on it; the two started searching, being very carefully in the way they touched something. After some minutes of silence the blue hedgehog lay a folded piece of cloth on the desk; he opened it and stared deep in though. No wonder that someone here conserved and used a map; it was a maze. The black hedgehog put a book back on the shelf and looked at his companion.

Seeing that the other was staring at something he walked over him "Found something that may help us?" He inquired as he saw the ancient piece of material "Yes." Shadow pointed out a writing on the top edge "I do not recall any type of language like that." Sonic squeezed his eyes a little "I think that it say 'Map of Lauren Shrine'."

Shadow raised an eyebrow "Kinda complicated to be a shrine, uh?" Sonic sighed heavily and nearly banged his head on the desk in frustration "Out of all places we had to end up in a ancient shrine? And an underwater one too! ARGH!" He threw his arms up and walked to the shelf. The black hedgehog glanced at the map; it was subdivided in three parts, and every floor was something that went near a maze "Why? Why they couldn't build this thing like a normal palace? But nooo they had to build a _maze_!" He looked up to see that Sonic was gesticulating in the air; he guessed that the blue hedgehog was just letting out all the frustration.

Shadow smiled, shook his head and returned his attention back to the map; he knew that Sonic was just tired of all of what was going on. He was tired too, but the blue hedgehog had been through more than him; his problems started only after the fall, but the other's started when he was released. On the map there were more of the markings that Sonic had read; they seemed to be the names of the rooms. Looking better he noticed that they were familiar to him "Hey Sonic, what type of language is this?" The blue hero turned around "The common language used four, maybe five thousands years ago. Few people can read it correctly and without a vocabulary." "Wait a second! You're telling me that you can read this stuff?" "Yes." Shadow's eyes widened in shock for a fraction of a second "Let me guess. You know it, but you don't know who teach it to you."

Sonic sighed and walked to the desk "Yeah." He saw the other hedgehog point a symbol "They are very familiar to me, but I have difficulties remembering what they exactly means." "That is read as 'ro'." As Sonic spoke he remembered something else; it was just a brief flash, but he saw a book filled with those symbols on a table in front of him. He rubbed his eyes a little 'Why the hell they would teach me this language?'

"So you can read it too?" He looked up to see that Sonic was reading the map "It's still blurry, but I'm starting to remember how to read it." The blue one chuckled "Here's another thing in common" A pause "You know Shadow? I never wondered so much who I am like I'm doing now. And it's your presence that sparkled the curiosity that I denied for so many years." He looked up and smiled "But this is not the right time to wonder about my past. We have to get out of here alive what good it would be if I discovered who I am and then die here?"

The more he knew him and the more his conviction about Sonic's origin got stronger; every little particular that he showed him, even the fact that he knew that language, brought him back to his brother. He was also tempted to tell him, but the blue hedgehog was right; it was not the right time to talk.

A realization suddenly hit him "How are we gonna take it underwater?" There was silence for a few seconds as the blue one thought "I really don't know" He said looking around for something that may help them; nothing useful seemed to be there. He looked at the map closely 'Maybe' He rubbed a wet glove over some letters; they didn't disappear "Blessed who made this map waterproofed." A pause "Now where are we?"

It took them more than five minutes to figure out where they were on the map; it was a little room collocated on the ground floor, near the entrance where they first came from. Shadow pointed the section that was in the back from the entrance "Isn't this a sort of back exit?" Sonic looked at it "Yes, and I hope that we can reach it without any more troubles" He memorized the fastest course and rolled the map; he walked to the water and looked at it "I also hope that the path is free from obstacles"

He turned around and looked at his black friend that was slowly advancing "How much can you hold your breath?" Shadow shrugged "I really don't know when we arrived here my lungs were just fine." The blue hedgehog nodded "If you start to feel them burning let me know." A nod and he slowly walked into the water; the coldness of it made a great impact on him, but he managed to suppress the urge to go back. He turned around and smiled "Are you coming?"

The two submerged and Sonic started swimming; they reached the crossing and turned right as the map had told them. A long hallway was covered in few seconds and they turned right again; the blue hedgehog stopped as he saw a room with a pool of air. He entered in the chamber and swam to the ceiling; their heads slowly poked out of the water. It was only three feet high "Do you know where we are, right?" Sonic nodded and unrolled the map; he pointed a room in the middle of an hallway "A few more turns and we should reach the back exit."

Shadow nodded "Are you scared that I could get lost in here?" He asked rolling again the map "No, just making sure if you really know where you are going. You know you have my life on your shoulders" The blue hedgehog chuckled "Don't worry! Ol' Blue here knows always what he's doing." He said cheerfully. The ebony one smiled and sighed at the same time "Ok, but if I die here you're gonna pay." Sonic hummed "Ok, but I'm not afraid of ghost." Shadow put the most serious face he could get "You'll be." He said darkly. There was a pause of silence and the two started chuckling "You know, it's absurd how you can transform everything into funny things" The other shrugged "I guess that's a natural talent." Another pause "On three."

The two submerged again and traveled the last part of the hallway; they turned and had to stop as the next corridor was filled with rocky girders and marble columns all over the place. Sonic looked at the way in front of him; it was dark because the crystal line on the ceiling was no more there to light the place; after a quick decision he turned around and swam back to the previous room "Can you stay here meanwhile I look if there is a safe way in that maze." Shadow nodded "I guess that now I can manage to stay afloat." He said as he released his hold on the other's neck; he swam a little awkwardly, but he managed to effectively stay afloat. He took the map that Sonic handed him and watched as he dived again; he prayed silently that everything would go ok.

Sonic swam back to the girder labyrinth and started to make his way through it with the aid of his little torch; he was extra careful as he guessed that was only a wonder if the entire place was standing up. A wrong move and he would die; the hedgehog reached the premature end of the hallway. He turned around slowly and bumped a near column; his heart froze as he saw the entire place start to shake. He started to swim and reached top speed in few seconds; he avoided every type of obstacles, including falling rocks, and nearly reached the end of the maze when he saw the entire ceiling in front of him collapse. His eyes widened and his heart froze again.

Shadow had felt the entire place rumble and now he was swimming back and forth with a very preoccupied expression on his face; he shook his head to free his mind from the bad thoughts that were now swarming in it 'No. Sonic is fine.' He turned around 'But what if' He stopped and closed his eyes 'No Shadow. He's still alive.' He knew that the other was still alive; he didn't know why he was so sure of that. Still in a little part of his mind he was scared to be wrong; he didn't want to lose a friend again.

His eyes opened as he heard someone break the water surface and take a huge breath of air "That was close!" He panted. Shadow sighed relieved and swam in front of him "What happened?" "I got nearly squashed by the ceiling, but I managed to swam away before it collapsed on me" The black hedgehog looked down "So we're stuck in here?" Sonic sighed "There was no way out of that" He said defeated "C'mon. We should go back to that room and rest a little before deciding what to do" The other hedgehog nodded discouraged and latched again his arms around the other's neck; he took a deep breath and the two dived under again.

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A watery hand burst out from the metal debris of the crumpled base; he managed to survive by concentrating his entire energy and the one took from the emerald to create a barrier strong enough to resist the explosion. After that he barely had the energy to keep his body from falling apart; he had to rest for hours just to recuperate enough energy to move.

Chaos slowly lifted the metal slab that prevented him to come out of the hole he was trapped in; changing form was out of the question for the moment. To do it he needed energy that he didn't have; with a powerful swing the slab heavily fell on the side. The beast climbed out and looked around; it was midday by now and he was in a crater where the base once was. There were still little flames that came out from certain parts of the rubbles.

He slowly made his way out of the filled crater and looked around again; the explosion was so terrible that the debris were sent over a hundred yard radius. Amongst them there were that stupid bipedal robots and those flying ones.

A stomping noise caught his unseen ears and he turned; there was a big mech that walked out from somewhere and pointed its guns at him. Chaos' eyes narrowed in an angered fashion; the human dared to fight him, and he was going to give him the lesson of his life. _Never mess up_ with Chaos.

The machine shoot a missile and he avoided it with no problem; he ran under the legs and with a well placed uppercut he hit the belly of the mechanical monster. The metal dented slightly; he was still weak and it would take him more than two hits to reach the inside. The water beast ran from under it to avoid to be stomped and circled it so he was at its back; the mech was slow to turn around and to avoid a punch brought on the glass cockpit.

The man in the Hot Shot started to doubt about the safety of his own life and decided to use the heavy artillery; two panels on the torso slid open to reveal a highly destructive machinegun. Chaos saw the changing and decided to run for another hit; when he was under the belly he scored another one. The dent was deeper and he calculated that other two or three hits would break the armor.

Chaos ran from under it and hid behind a piece of concrete to avoid the rain of bullets that came from his enemy; he looked around and saw a safe path that led behind the machine. He silently ran and when he finally reached the end he ran again under it and hit again; he felt the mech tremble and he hid again. If this kept going then he would have no problems at all.

He was crestfallen when he saw the mech fold its legs and take flight over the metallic ruins of the base; his eyes narrowed as he saw that the pilot saw him. Chaos ran to avoid another bullet rain and eyed a piece of something that gave him a good idea.

The water beast ran past by it, the Hot Shot hot in his heels, stopped suddenly and ran towards it; his timing was perfect as he used the raised piece of concrete like a springboard to hit again the mech's belly. The hit saw powerful enough to stall the engines; the mech flopped heavily on the ground creating a small earthquake.

Chaos stood in front of the mech and looked at the puny man was trying to make work again the engines; he walked to the cockpit and hit it causing a nice big crack on the bulletproof glass. He was going to hit again, but he had to jump out of the way as the machineguns started to fire; he ran behind it and watched as the machine lifted from the ground. Chaos would have smiled if he had a mouth as he saw the golden opportunity for another hit; not wanting to waste it he ran again under it and used all of his strength to hit. He felt the metal tear apart as his watery hand connected with it; he continued the dive and destroyed whatever was in it.

Chaos ran away as the machine finally fell for the last time; he walked back at the cockpit and with another hit he broke the glass. Taking a hold of the little dome he tore it away from its place and launched it behind his back.

Chaos watched as the man looked at him with terrified eyes "P-please d-don't k-k-kill me!" He stammered. The water creature narrowed his eyes a little and stared at him; this man was not evil, but yet, why he attacked him? The answer came from the machine "Soldier! What's the status of your task?" A few seconds of silence "Soldier! Answer my question!"

Chaos remembered that it was the same voice that he heard in the base when the order to capture the hedgehogs came from strange things on the walls; he looked at the source and destroyed it, then he looked back at the man "He commanded me I have no power to disobey him if I do he can accuse me of betrayal! And in the military the betrayal can be punished with death!"

Chaos stood up without looking away from the eyes of the man; he was telling the truth. He tilted his head and walked away "W-wait!" He turned his head to see that the man was slowly leaving the cockpit "I heard that you are trying to find Sonic and Shadow." He climbed out and stood immobile watching the beast. Chaos fully turned and nodded.

"They stole a plane and went that way. It's all that I know and can do to help you." He paused "Are you planning to help them? They need all the help they can get our general will not stop in front of anything to get them back." Chaos nodded and turned to walk away "Thanks for having spared my life and good luck!" He heard him say.

Chaos walked on the rocky desert as he followed the direction told by the man; it was little, but it was better than nothing. He knew that Sonic and Shadow, the black hedgehog that was almost a prefect copy of the blue one, were pretty far away, but he wasn't going to give up that easily. He needed to know the answers to many questions; like who Shadow is and why he has the same look and abilities of Sonic.

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"The train will depart in a hour." Rouge said while consulting a board "Then I'm going to call Tails. We should tell him in what type of mess we are. And if Sonic and Shadow are there too they could just run here and help us." The white bat turned to face her red companion "Good idea Knuckles!" She said smiling softly. The echidna froze "Ah um yeah... thanks" He muttered as he saw the female walk slowly towards him; he raised his left hand and pointed to the right "I I better go now" And he sprinted away towards the nearest phone.

Rouge chuckled a bit and turned, only to find the echidna in front of her "I forgot that I have no money" He said shyly. The bat's smile widened as she saw the little blush on his cheeks "Here." She said pulling a few coins out of a pocked on her suit "That's all I have." "Thanks!" He said running away again 'He's so cute when he blush.'

The female spy sat on a table and called for a waiter; when the man came she ordered a cup of coffee. She put the folder on her lap and for more protection she put her left hand on it; she used the other for a support for her head. Looking around she saw that Knuckles was waiting patiently near a phone box; the public device was occupied by a big woman that was wearing too visibly.

Rouge coffee was brought at her table and she started to sip it; looking at Knuckles' direction again she suppressed the urge to yell at the woman to just end the conversation and give the echidna the receiver. The bat sighed and glanced down at the folder 'I wonder how many secret GUN has?' She sipped again her drink and looked up at the echidna; the sight made her inhale the coffee and cough for her dear life.

After she calmed down she looked again; the woman was still at the phone and Knuckles was sitting cross legged near it with his eyes closed waiting patiently for her to end. After another ten minutes the woman's call ended and left the device; she saw the echidna got up from the ground and put the coins into it.

'Finally!' He thought as he dialed the number of Tails phone; after a few moment a feminine voice responded "Yes?" "Amy, is that you?" "Yes, who's there?" "Knuckles." "Oh, hi Knuckles! How are you?" "Fine, is Tails there? It's urgent." There was a faint call for the vulpine and after a few seconds a young male voice greeted the echidna's ears.

"What's the hurry, Knuckles?" "We're in hot waters, Tails!" He paused and looked at Rouge to make sure she was ok "Keep an eye open for GUN." A hum from the fox "What happened? We cleared the mistake about Sonic" "No, it's not about that. Rouge has found something that GUN wants to keep secret, and regards Shadow. Is he there?" "No, I lost contact with him and Sonic two days ago."

The echidna winced knowing that the two hedgehogs were probably deep in troubles "Listen Tails, well be there in half a hour. In the meantime if Sonic contact you tell him to watch out." "Ok." Knuckles hung up and sighed; this story was starting to get too complicated. He walked away and covered his ears as an alarm went off; he saw Rouge get up and run to him.

"Hurry! We have to hide!" She exclaimed as she reached him "What do you mean?" "This is a diversion!" She explained to him meanwhile they reached the tracks "The alarm will ride away the common people letting us without our cover." She hopped in the pitch and started running followed by the echidna "So they can attack us without worrying about letting people knows that something is up!"

"Clever." Knuckles muttered as he briefly looked back; his eyes instantly widened as he saw a big machine with a drill nose that was swirling menacingly. He turned and increased his speed "You better run like you never have done!" He exclaimed. The bat turned and she had the same reaction as her red companion "Hint accepted." She said increasing her pace.

They where now in the bridge to the Mystic Ruins and the sea under it was hollering madly "Knuckles! I don't know how far I can keep this." Rouge said with a hint of a pant. Behind them the machine was dangerously gaining ground; the echidna looked around, and an idea flashed in his mind. He grinned and motioned for Rouge to follow him; she nodded and launched herself from the bridge soon after the echidna. The machine stopped instantly as the pilot saw that his two targets were gone.

"So you plan to destroy a bridge track so that hellish machine can't follow us?" "Right." Rouge would have crossed her arms if it wasn't for the fact that she was clinging on a pillar of the bridge; instead she put an incredulous expression on her face "And how are we going to do it?" Knuckles smiled "Go to the next pillar and wait."

Rouge sighed and accomplished his request 'I hope you know what you're doing.' She thought gripping the other pillar; she looked back and saw Knuckles in the middle of the track's side. He was preparing to hit the piece with all of his strength; after a few swings he fully charged up and hit. The sound that came from it resembled the one emitted by a gun when it fired; it was immediately followed by a rumble and the piece collapse down.

"See?" He said implanting his namesakes into the concrete; he smiled again as he saw Rouge's open-mouthed reaction "Tell me, you never fought seriously against me, right?" "No, Rouge. I fought you with all my strength. What you saw was something that I can pull off only if I concentrate enough, and in a fight it's hard to concentrate in that way."

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Gha gha gha gha!  
The chapter is done, but not the problems that our two hedgehogs, Chaos and the other will have to face.

And it seems that I found again my inspiration. What I had to do was just start writing

Next chapter (probably):  
'Ancients Ruins, Old Traps And Hottish Lava'

**Reviews are always welcomed!**

Az


	10. Ancients Ruins, Old Traps And Hottish La...

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Authoress' note:** The remake of the second chapter is done. **Go and read it!** Then tell me if it is better or worse than the one that was up before.  
  
**Authoress' Note2:** In this chapter I happened to have put a story intertwined with the main one, when I end this, maybe I'll develop that. Until then, ENJOY!

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**RichaCo:** So tell me, who do you think S-01 is? Anyway, for the 'She' of this fic… I was going to change that (and thus erasing the part about her), but you gave me a little idea about her so I put her back in the plot! *Evil and maniacal laughs* So you better wonder about her again ^^  
**Last note:** Thanks for being always here when the chapter comes out.

**Firehedgehog:** Thanks!

**Dragon Master Naya:** Hey! I'm happy to see you here! Do you like the plot? Anyway, what makes you think that? And yes, Shadow can't swim because having lived all his life on ARK he didn't had the chance to learn, but he learnt fast as you have read.

**ShadowsChicks:** *Blush* You… you really think that? Thanks! I'm touched *wriggles in her seat with a wide smile* Anyway, here's the tenth chapter. I hope ya like it ^^

C'mon people! Don't be shy! Review! You don't know how happy I get after a review!

  
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CHAPTER TEN

Ancients Ruins, Old Traps And Hottish Lava

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Eggman stood up from a metal table in the center of a room filled with tools for mechanical things; he wiped his brow and sighed audibly as he watched his last work "With these chips the victory will soon be mine." He picked up the two chips and walked to another table, where two identical robots were lying deactivated and without the head's shell.

The mad man started to work on the blue one's 'brain', and after some minutes he passed on the other; when he was finished he walked to a near computer and typed some codes in it "For years I tried to create a chip that could resist to the huge information of this AI program, but I always ended up with a failure." He said picking up two wide and flat cables.

He returned to the table and connected the two mech to the computer "But now that my grandfather left an ingenious project behind I can run my masterpiece without the risk of having the chip melted." He explained to nobody in particular; he sat on the chair in front of the computer and with the pressure of a specific combination on the keyboard the monitor displayed a message of downloading.

The status bar reached the one percent only after three minutes "The download will take more than two hours, but it's worth the waiting." He got up and walked to the door, where a red E-100 series was waiting "You." He said pointing the mech "Guard this room. Warn me whenever the download is complete or if you see something suspicious."

"Yes Master." The mech simply responded without moving a limb; Eggman nodded and left the room. He turned right and walked down the gray corridor 'Now the only thing left is to prepare a trap for that hedgehog.' His hidden mouth drew a pleased smile 'He must fall first… and _fast_. Then the others will not pose a real threat for me.'

A mad and happy laugh echoed in the metal hallway as the doctor walked briskly, despite his mole, toward a large door labeled 'Control Room'. Eggman stood in front of the door and it opened when the sensor picked up his presence; he entered and walked to a large console "Now… what can I plot?"

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The room lightly illuminated by the crystal's light was quiet, like it had been for thousands of years, until now that two fugitive had transformed it in some sort of safe post; somewhere where they could rest and plan what to do on the next move.

Shadow sighed as he watched intently the water surface; he was sitting next to it waiting for Sonic, who was swimming around the place, to return. He sighed again and glanced around the dimly lit room; more than five minutes had passed since the blue hedgehog departed to explore.

His eyes fell on the ground, under the marble desk, where a little book was lying; it was hidden from someone who was standing, but now that he was sitting he could clearly see it. Curiosity took over him and he crawled to it, picking it up carefully; he returned to his waiting spot and opened the book, which turned out to be a journal of someone that probably forgot it there before the whole place died.

Luckily for him it was in the same language of the map and he could read it, albeit with a certain difficulty. He decided to start from the end of it; maybe there was something interesting about the abandoned palace. Shadow found the last written page in the middle of the diary; the writing was horrible and hard to make out.

_"I warned the highest member of the Council about the fact that this temple is doomed. We know that there's no way to prevent that. The enemy is too strong. We decided to evacuate the place before they could surround us. Me and Tabros decided to stay behind to simulate our death in the vain attempt to protect the shrine. We will leave the place trough the trial's path." _That was where the writings ended. Shadow raised an eyebrow; that way out could still be intact. He browsed back the pages until one of them got his full attention.

"I passed the test! Now I can take the Trial of Lauren! I can't wait! I prepared for this day my whole life! If I manage to pass it and bring back the sacred yellow gem that it's at the end of the path I will be rewarded and bring wealth to my poor village!"

"Yellow gem? Could he be talking about the yellow Chaos Emerald?" He muttered thoughtfully; his eyes hastily returned on the ancient pages of the diary. He turned the page and was welcomed by the drawing of the Chaos Emerald.

"It took me more than two days to reach the other side of the path; amongst the many people that tried this feat with me I was the only survivor. I almost got killed by the traps more than one time, but I managed to reach the goal. When I touched the fist sized gem I felt a strange tingle in my arm."

"Luckily there was a very well hidden exit at the end of the trial, which took me almost two hours to find, and left the final chamber through it. Out I fount the members of the council, that led me back to the palace without saying a word. When we got to the Council Chamber they told me that I was the first to reach the end since the trial was put up."

Shadow closed the little book and sighed; he had found an alternate exit, but according to the writer the path was two days long and full of traps. He looked at the pool of water as his eyes caught a movement; Sonic was finally back from his exploration.

The blue hedgehog emerged and shook his head to get rid of the water in his ears "Found some way out?" Sonic looked up at Shadow and sighed "No… every way that could reach the back exit is blocked…" He answered walking out of the water; he sat next to him exhausted and closed his eyes "The floor is blocked… I saw some passages that led to the second floor, but I'm tired now…"

"Maybe I found some sort of way out from here…" He paused as he saw that the other hedgehog gave him his attention "But according to the guy that wrote this," He raised the journal in his hand to eye level "The path is two days long and full of traps…" He concluded. Sonic let out a low groan and flopped on the ground, giving his back to the black hedgehog.

The black hedgehog raised an eyebrow "Sonic?" "What?" He seemed annoyed to no end "Are you ok?" Sonic rolled a bit on his back so he could look the other hedgehog in the eyes "Do I seem to be ok?" He sighed and scratched his head "Sorry." He apologized "It's just that I feel tired in the body and in the mind…"

He sat up and leaned his back on the wall "I never had so much troubles on my adventures… not even when I went in space for the first time…" Shadow turned his head to him with curiosity "You went in space? When?" The blue hero chuckled and waved a hand nonchalantly in front of his face "Three years ago… Eggman was trying to take over with the aid of the Death Egg."

The ebony hedgehog raised an eyebrow "Death Egg?" The other nodded "A space station like ARK, but it was round instead of half… and smaller. I destroyed it, but in the process I was catapulted down to earth." He paused and shifted in his position "The burning pain was so bad that I activated the Chaos Emeralds and went Super even if I was literally depleted of energies. The strain on my body and mind was so hard that I lost consciousness before I touched ground and slept for the next three days…"

"Wow… You got through a lot in your life, eh?" "You don't even know the half of it… Eggman is settled to conquer the world… and I'm the only one that's between him and his goal…" "And your friends?" The blue hero sighed again "They provide me great support during the entire ordeal, but in the end it's always me that has to save the day from a catastrophe…" He paused and looked at Shadow "The only person that really helped me in the end was you…"

Sonic diverted his eyes away from his double to look at the space in front of him "You're like no other… besides me…" He raised his left knee to his chest and leaned on it with his arms and head "Is this… just a coincidence?" He muttered closing his eyes and falling asleep. Shadow smiled and leaned his back on the wall 'No, Sonic. This is no coincidence…' He thought closing his eyes.

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The general walked back and forth in his office waiting for a report from the excavation site 'It's been hours since the squads started digging…' He stopped his pacing as a woman entered in his office "So?" He asked eagerly. The woman cleared his throat "The squads' leader has reported that they finished excavating, but there's no trace of the two fugitives."

The man raised an eyebrow at her "How is that possible?" "I'm sorry, I don't know…" She said scared. The general sighed and sat at the desk "Tell them to search until they find a clue to where those two hedgehogs could be." "Yes Sir." She responded bowing lightly and leaving the room.

The general sighed and leaned back on the chair "Those two damned hedgehogs… they are also lucky!" He paused and turned to look at the forest from the window "But their luck will soon run out… and I will be there to watch their demise…" He chuckled "It's only a question of patience… and believe me, hedgehogs… I have a lot of it."

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Shadow woke up from his light slumber and yawned; he didn't know for how much he was out. He looked at the sleeping hedgehog next to him and sighed; he shook his head and yawned rubbing his eyes. His mind was getting dangerously cloudy; the air was starting to lack in that little space, and they needed to move on. He placed a hand on the other's peach shoulder and lightly shook him "Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog mumbled something under his breath and curled up more "Sonic." He shook him a little more and he managed to make the other open his eye by a crack "Hm?" He asked more asleep than awake "Sonic, we have to go. The air here is starting to lack." The hero closed his eye "Just give me some minutes to fully wake up…"

Shadow wasn't so sure of that, but gave him anyway those minutes that he asked for; after two minutes of silence Sonic moved his arm and rubbed his eyes "Feeling better?" "Yeah, I'm just feeling light headed." The black one yawned again "I know… it's just the lack of oxygen. That's why we need to go." He explained standing up.

He bent over and picked up the little journal that was at his feet "Unfortunately this journal don't say anything about the traps of the path, so we have to go blindly and hope for the best." He said walking to the marble desk and placing the book on it. Sonic stood up and stretched, giving another yawn; he walked beside his black counterpart and looked at the map.

After some seconds of silence Sonic pointed a big room on the first floor "Here!" He said "This is where the path start." Shadow nodded and examined the distance between the two rooms; they were lucky. It was just after two corners at the room's right. The two walked to the pool and into the water; Sonic shivered "I hope that this will end soon." He muttered. Shadow latched his arms around the blue hedgehog's neck again "Hardly… that human is fixated with you and me…" He commented.

Sonic hummed "He seemed more fixated with me than you… I made him kinda mad back in the base…" The other hedgehog chuckled "Don't worry, I'll help you through this even if it was the last thing that I do in my life." Sonic remained silent at that statement, but after a moment a little smile appeared on his lips "And I'll help you back. I'll prevent that man from shutting you away again even if it was going to cost me my life."

The black hedgehog smiled back "Thanks." The other shook his head "That is what friends are for. To help when you are in need." 'No, Sonic. You're wrong! You're not just a friend! You're family! _My only family!_ I'd die to lose you now that I found you.' Sonic raised an eyebrow as he felt that his friend was deep in thought "Shadow?"

The ebony creature woke up from his thoughtful status and shook his head "Sorry, I was just thinking about something important." He couldn't lie, but at the same time he couldn't tell him the truth; not now that they were trapped underground and under the status of _'fugitives'_. Sonic swam further "Do you want to talk about it?" "Uh, no. It's ok. It's something that I have to figure out by myself." The blue one sighed "Ok."

The two took a huge breath and dived into the green water 'Sonic knows that I have something in my mind.' He felt Sonic switch his swimming style and increase his speed 'But how can I tell him?' He had to grip the blue hero's neck as he felt that they turned left 'I know that I have to tell him, but when?' Another turn nearly made him lose his grip 'When this whole affair will be ended? It could be a good moment to tell him, but he could discover it from someone else before I tell him.'

There was another turn and after some seconds he felt that they where ascending; the two broke their heads free from the water. The new room was at least fifty feet wide and seventeen long; it was divided in three naves by two lines of huge columns. The room was filled with water only by three quarters and at the end there was a huge statue of Lauren; but this time it was crouched and with the wings folded around his body and the water reached only his shoulders.

Sonic swam forwards; now that he was in a new air bubble the fog in his mind was quickly lifting. He swam behind the statue and stopped; there was a doorway like the map had said, but it was blocked by a solid piece of marble. The blue hedgehog narrowed his eyes and lifted the left part of his upper lip, showing his white teeth; the growl emitted by his throat made the water around him vibrate lightly.

He backtracked to the statue "Wait here." He nearly commanded. Shadow gripped the right wing of the statue "What are you planning?" The blue hedgehog looked at the wall "There's no way that a wall will stop me." He commented swimming thirty feet in front of the marble obstacle.

There was a pause of some seconds before Sonic took action; he gave so much force at his thrust that he broke free from the water with his torso before he disappeared under it. Water flew everywhere near the diving point just before a loud muffled thud came from the marble wall; the obstacle shook and dust flew from the three interspaces that outlined the door.

Sonic reappeared again in the same point that he was before and coughed; with some other hits the wall could be pushed off from its place, or he could break his shoulder first. He smirked; the wall was going down, no matter what. He and Shadow needed to get out of there or the place would become their grave; he could clearly feel that he was reaching his limit, and he knew that the other hedgehog was near it too. By now it was more than two days that they were without food; luckily the water was in abundance in that place.

Shadow watched as Sonic dived again and hit the marble wall, which shook and shifted in his place by mere millimeters; the blue hedgehog reappeared near the wall. He breathed a little before he turned around and swam away; he was clutching his left shoulder with his other hand 'I have to help him. He can't do it alone.' He grimaced at that thought 'But how? I'm not fast like Sonic.'

He helplessly watched as Sonic dived for the third time, hit the wall and reemerge panting 'Or yes?' He looked down at his feet through the green colored water 'I use my shoes to run at his same speed… maybe I can use them to match his swimming ability…' He glanced up as he heard another splash 'I have to try it.'

He activated his shoes and nearly lost his grip as he felt himself nearly fly away; he smiled contently. The trick worked perfectly; now he only had to master it. He saw the blue hedgehog poke his head out of the water "Hey Sonic!" He called waving a hand. Sonic turned his head at him "Hm?" "Come here a second. I have an idea, but I need some time to master the trick."

Sonic raised an eyebrow while he swam to the statue; when he arrived he gripped the same wing where the other had is hand on "So, tell me this idea of yours." He said relaxing his fatigued body "Listen, it's plainly visible that you alone can't move that wall. I can help you, but I need some minutes to figure out how to work my shoes while I'm in water." He explained looking directly into the other's green eyes.

The blue hero closed his eyes in defeat; he knew that his black counterpart was right. The wall was simply to heavy for him alone "Ok." He said leaning his right arm and head on the marble shoulder of the statue; he sighed and let his eyes nearly close completely. He also let his mind rest from every preoccupation that he could think about; he lazily watched Shadow swam away from the statue. He smiled as he noted that he was getting better at it; a little of practice and he would reach him. No doubt.

He fully opened his eyes in shock as he saw the other hedgehog take off in a burst of speed; there was a scream before he hit head first a column and sink briefly. Shadow emerged massaging his forehead "Shadow!" He called "Come here a second." The black one complied and took hold of the wing "What?" He asked still rubbing the sore spot on his head "When you need to turn use your arms and head quills."

Shadow raised an eyebrow "Uh?" The blue hero left his hold on the statue and swam in front of his friend "Have you see how I swim underwater?" "Yes, you remind me of a dolphin." Sonic nodded "Yes, and I keep my arms at my sides for a better aerodynamics. But when I need to turn, left for example, I put my left arm out to brake only on my left side." He explained moving his left arm up and fully opening his palm "Then I turn my head in that direction so my head quills can do the work. The more you want to turn sharply, the more you have to turn your head." Shadow mumbled a little "And when you descend or ascend?" The blue hedgehog seemed to think "There I have to show it to you because It's kinda hard to explain." He responded scratching his head.

It took him almost an hour to fully master those tricks, but in the end he was a swimmer as good as Sonic was. The blue hedgehog explained him how to descend or ascend, how to made an abrupt stop and how to make a sharp U turn; Sonic was not impressed by the fact that his black counterpart learnt this fast. After all, he was his double.

Sonic smiled and started swimming "I congratulate with you, Shadow. I never saw someone learn this fast." The black hedgehog swam next to him in a strutted fashion "You forgot that I am the world's…" "Ultimate Life Form. Yeah, yeah, I know that…" He concluded for him. The blue hero turned around and swam backwards; on his lips a playful grin "But remember this, oh great Ultimate Life Form. You have found a rival for that. You also said it when we were fighting in space." Shadow raised an eyebrow a little confused and Sonic crossed his arms over his chest "'Sonic, I was thinking about the Ultimate Life Form… It might be you…' That was what you said…"

Shadow watched the other resume swimming giving his back to him; he sighed "I know that. And now that I think about it… it seems more appropriate than before…" 'I should tell him.' The two hedgehogs stopped thirty feet in front of the door 'But thinking about it… he could know it in some ways…'

"Shadow, I know that there's something that's eating you…" Sonic stopped and turned around "I don't know what, but I have this feeling that it could regard me in some ways…" The black hedgehog stopped and looked at the other, who put a hand on his shoulder "But whatever is it, good or bad… I'm here to help you."

Shadow sighed "I guess that you're right, Sonic… but… it's hard…" The blue hedgehog smiled "I know…" He turned and faced the thirty feet away marble slab "But I think that this is not a good place to make confessions…" Shadow faced it too "You're right… the sooner we get out of here… the sooner I can tell you what's eating me…"

The two departed in perfect sync and only a second later the marble wall shook more violently; the two hedgehogs reemerged at the same point where they left "It's giving better than before." Sonic commented "Two is better than one." The other said smiling. The two looked at each other and repeated the process three more time before the wall finally gave in.

There was a wave that made the two hedgehogs roll back uncontrollably; they reemerged five feet away from the now open passage. They looked at each other and high-fived smiling "Yes!" They cheered at the same time. The hedgehogs slowly swam in front of the entrance and spied the new dark passage that was leading upwards.

Sonic unlatched the little torch from his wrist and turned it on; after some feet the water ended "Look at the positive side… we don't have to swim anymore…" He said looking at him smiling cheerfully. Shadow sighed, smiled and scratched his head at the same time "You always see the better side of everything… how do you do that?" The blue hedgehog's smile widened "It's something I picked up over the years of fighting."

Sonic swam onwards and started wading up the rocky slope; he had to catch his balance when he slipped on a rock covered with algas. The black hedgehog started following his blue double being careful to not slip over the algas covered rocky surface; they continued to slowly climb in silence for several minutes before Sonic stopped. The flashlight illuminated upwards; Shadow stopped and looked up "Did we reached the end?" He asked trying to see past Sonic.

The blue hedgehog stepped aside to let Shadow take a look "I can see an orange light up there… maybe it's the end of the climb." He said pointing the faint orange light with his finger "What could possibly give off that eerie light?" He asked squeezing his eyes a little. Sonic shrugged and resumed climbing "I don't know, but we'll find out soon…"

-----------------

Rouge smiled contently as she and her echidna companion came out of the dark tunnel; she saw Tails' workshop right at their left. In a burst of happiness she jumped, threw her arms around the first person that was near her and kissed his cheek "We did it!" She exclaimed. Knuckles just stopped every muscle of his body and started blushing madly, making him more red than he was.

The white bat stopped her enthusiasm when she understood what she was doing; she looked at the unmoving echidna and after a second of staring she released him "S-sorry!" She said turning around to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks. Knuckles managed to catch his breath and sighed; it was the first time that he was hugged "It's… it's nothing…" He managed to mutter scratching his muzzle.

A minute passed in silence before Knuckles broke it "We should go down and get the help of Tails…" He said still embarrassed. Rouge only nodded her approval; she was in the same condition of the red echidna. She knew that she liked him a lot, but that was an unexpected move even for her; she heard Knuckles walk away and followed him hiding her little smile of embarrassment, satisfaction and amusement.

The two jumped from the track and started gliding towards the structure; they landed in front of the door and Knuckles knocked on it. After some seconds of waiting a pink hedgehog opened the door "Hey there Knuckles!" She greeted him, then she turned towards the white bat and smiled widely "And Rouge!" She stepped aside to let the two treasure hunters into the workshop.

"We were preoccupied, Knuckles. When you called you seemed in a big problem…" She said with a worried face. The red echidna let his white ex-rival enter first and closed the door behind him "And we still are… Where's Tails?" He said looking around for the orange vulpine "Oh, he's trying to find something on the net about Sonic and Shadow…" She let worry and sadness fully take over her face "It's been two days, almost three, since we last saw, or heard from them…"

The two treasure hunters looked at each other, then Rouge stepped forwards and placed her hand on the hedgehog's shoulder "Don't worry. I'm sure that they're fine!" She said reassuringly. Amy looked up and smiled faintly "You are right Rouge. It's Sonic and Shadow that we're talking about, right?" The white bat smiled and squeezed a little her shoulder "Good, girl. Now, show us where Tails is."

The pink hedgehog smiled and led the two treasure hunters into a little room that was on the first floor; in there Tails was sitting in front of a computer "Found something, Fox Boy?" Rouge asked affectionately. The young fox turned around in his seat and smiled "Hello Rouge, hi Knuckles!" He greeted them.

A second later the happy face of the vulpine turned sad and discouraged "Sadly, no. They seems to have disappeared into nothingness…" He said returning to the computer "The last thing that we knew of them was that they were involved in a building's collapse two days ago…" He sighed and flopped on the chair "And that the zone was immediately put under military guard…"

Rouge's eyes widened in shock "Tails dear…" She said walking to the desk and putting the folder on it "Be a dear and go fetch me a bottle of coffee." The fox looked at her raising an eyebrow questioningly; the bat smiled and scratched his head between the ears "I'm going to break into GUN's main database, and it'll be long and hard…"

Tails stood up from the chair and let the bat sit on it "Do… do you think that GUN has them?" Rouge looked at the three people that were staring at her, then she sighed and scratched her head "I'm not going to lie to you… the probability that they got them is very high…" She looked at Tails that lowered his head and at Amy, who was trying hard to not start crying "But I'm sure that they are alive!"

The three nodded "I'm going to make you that bottle of coffee, Rouge." Amy said walking out of the room "Is there something that I can do?" Tails asked eager to help the bat. Rouge smiled and nodded "Yes." She said picking up the folder and handing it to him "GUN is really fixated with having this back… make a copy and hid it somewhere safe. Then give me back the original."

The fox nodded and took the folder; he stopped as a golden bracelet fell from it "Ops…" He said bending over and picking it up; he stood up and stared at the carvings "Hey, I know these carvings!" He exclaimed. Rouge and Knuckles gave full attention at the young fox "You… you can read it?" She asked hopefully.

Tails looked at her and shook his head "Oh, no. Not me. Sonic knows. When we met for the first time, to reach Eggman we went through some ancients ruins, where I discovered that Sonic could read them." He explained holding out the bracelet. Knuckles' eyes widened in shock "_What?!?_" He asked raising a little his voice.

The poor fox backtracked from him a little in fear; the echidna subdued his shock and smiled apologetically "Sorry, Tails… this is a shocking news…" He leant on the wall at his back "Sonic reading ancient language… it's shocking… really…" He muttered crossing his arms on his chest. Tails smiled "Anyway… I have a copy machine in the basement. I'm there if you need me." He said leaving the room.

Rouge stretched her fingers and returned to face the computer; she started typing on the keyboard and the screen became black with white words "Knuckles?" She asked not facing the red echidna "Hm?" He responded standing up from the wall and walking next to her "GUN is not going to give that folder up…" Knuckles unfolded his arms and let them fall at his sides; he nodded "If you need me I'm on the roof."

He started walking away, but stopped as he heard the female treasure hunter turn around in her seat "Uh… Knuckles?" The echidna faced her "Yes?" He asked starting blushing a little. Rouge looked at the ground "Sorry… for that kiss…" She apologized again. There was silence for several seconds before the two heard someone descend the stairs; he smiled shyly and looked at the ground too "It's ok, Rouge." He said before he left the room.

-----------------

Sonic stood immobile taking in the sight that the new environment gave him; some feet down the natural shaft Shadow was still climbing. He looked up and saw that the blue hedgehog was like a statue "What's up, Sonic?" He asked curiously. When he didn't receive a response he quickly crossed the few feet that were separating him from the other; when he saw what was expecting them he imitated his double.

After some seconds Sonic sat down and rubbed his temples; the ebony hedgehog opened his mouth in disbelief. They were in a new cavern; an enormous one. It was more than three hundreds yards wide, two hundreds high and who knows how long; but it wasn't the hugeness that stunned them, it was the fact that the entire cavern was filled with lava "Shadow… Let me present you the source of the orange light…" Sonic muttered looking at the bubbling hot liquid.

Shadow looked at the raised path in the middle of the pool of lava; it was an unique piece of rock covered by marble slabs. At its sides, every ten feet, there was a pair of column on every side; they were only a foot away from each other and were holding up a three feet long piece of marble. The black hedgehog slowly climbed out of the steep slope and stood up; the blue one matched his move and walked at the beginning of marble surface.

Sonic turned around and smiled at his black friend "Shall we go?" He asked forgetting about the stress he was under. Shadow smiled back and walked onwards "We go, we go." He said patting the shoulder of the other hedgehog. The blue hero chuckled and walked with the black one through the marble path.

After half a hour of fast walk the two hedgehogs reached the other end of the magma filled cave; Sonic looked at the new dark path that was slightly leading downwards and sighed heavily "I hope that this will not lead us right in the center of the planet…" He muttered. The black hedgehog's eyes fell on a marble bowl embed in the wall next to the doorway; he walked over it and examined its contents 'Light Crystals!' He thought picking up one.

He turned around and faced his comrade "Hey Sonic! We can use these." He said launching the crystal to him. The blue hedgehog caught it in his right hand and looked at it "Lucky!" He exclaimed "Now I don't need to use the torch and have the risk to finish the battery!" Shadow took another one and stood next to him "Back on ARK I never dreamt to have an adventure like this…" Sonic looked at him "For me, instead, it's not the first time that I find myself into something like this…"

The two started walking into the dark hallway; the crystals' light was orange and was illuminating only six feet from them "Sonic?" "Hm?" "Remind me that when we are in vacation I have to ask you to tell me every adventure you had." Sonic nearly tripped "Why are you interested in that?" "Curiosity, I guess…" The blue one shrugged "Ok."

Five minutes passed in silence scanned only by the sound of their shoes hitting the marble surface; both knew that they couldn't run for two simple fact. One: they were too tired to do that; two: they risked to trip over something and fall badly. The quiet was broke by a faint click that resounded on the still air "Uh… Sonic? Did you hear that?" Shadow asked stopping in his track. The blue hedgehog stopped too "Yeah…" He said straining his hearing.

There was a faint rumble that came from behind them; it was somewhat familiar to him. Sonic kneeled down and put a hand on the ground; it was trembling slightly, like if something heavy was continuously hitting it. Suddenly his eyes widened in fear "_Run!_" He yelled standing up and running as fast as he could do. Shadow matched his speed and sided him in the descent activating his jets shoes for a better performance.

"Sonic, what is it?" He asked alarmed. Sonic increased his speed forcing his tired and still injured legs "Can you hear this rumble?" Shadow nodded "Yeah, what's that?" "Oh, nothing… just a big and round rock that's rolling down the path…" The ebony hedgehog's ruby eyes widened in shock "_A what!?_" "You heard me we…" Sonic didn't have the time to finish his sentence that he felt the ground give in under his feet.

The two hedgehogs fell for several feet releasing two scared screams; the fall lasted only a second, but it was enough for them to feel the bad landing. Sonic landed on his back, hitting his head on the brick surface and Shadow fell face first, on top of Sonic in a crossed manner. The two heard the big rock pass over the hole without falling in it; a fortune in the misfortune. Still dazed, the sapphire hedgehog tried to understand what was their new location; it was a small hole, barely wide enough to contain them, and with a faint orange light that came from the two crystals.

"W… what happened?" Shadow asked regaining consciousness "We evaded the rock, but now we're stuck in a hole…" He explained passing his hand between his head quills; through the fabric of the glove he felt warm liquid. He winced and retracted his hand; he brought it over his eyes and sighed. His index and middle fingers were covered in blood "Great…" He muttered leaning his head on the ground and resting his hand on his torso.

Shadow cleared his mind from the fall and started raising; he stood up on his hands and knees and winced. He quickly raised his right hand from the ground and tried to slowly move it; he renounced as the wrist in question gave him a tremendous pain only with a minimal movement. He couldn't tell if it was just a bad twist or a fracture since on the outside it seemed normal.

The black hedgehog tried to stood on his feet but stopped again; this time it was the ground's fault, which budged under him "Oh crap…" He muttered not moving a muscle. He slowly looked down at Sonic, who had his eyes half closed "Sonic, don't move." He calmly said to him "And who's moving?" The blue hedgehog responded almost sarcastically.

There was silence for some seconds before the ground gave another budge "Ok, Now how the _hell_ we're supposed to get out of here without falling to our death?" Sonic smiled and faintly chuckled "Who… who said that we'll fall to our death?" "Me." "Why are you so pessimistic?" "Because I have this annoying thing in my stomach that's telling me that under this 'ground' there's nothing good."

There was silence again between the two "Ok, listen. You can hover out of here and search for something to help me…" Sonic suggested with a faint voice; by now it was hard to stay awake for him. Shadow rolled his eyes "Oh yeah, and meanwhile I'm searching you'll fall and die! No Sonic, I'm not letting you here _alone_." Sonic smiled and closed his eyes "But in the duct you said that if I was going to do something like that again you were going to leave me behind…" The black hedgehog turned his head away "Well, I take that back."

There was no response that came from the sapphire hedgehog; Shadow looked at him again. He was out cold with a faint smile on his lips 'What he has to smile about?' His thoughts were interrupted by another budge; the ground was going to give in very soon "Ok… think Shadow, think!" He encouraged himself 'Maybe I can pull Sonic up with me… I never tried to carry a person with my hover shoes. It'll be hard to hover out of here myself alone now that I'm tired, and with him in tow the strain will be doubled…'

The ebony hedgehog looked around in search of something that may help him in another way; he stopped and sighed 'Nothing! We're stuck in a damned hole with nothing!' His thought were interrupted again by a budge given by the ground; but this time it was a bit too strong for his tastes. He felt his blood freeze in his veins as the ground crumpled under him and his friend.

Shadow's eyes widened as he saw what was under them; it was a pit full of lava. If it wasn't for the stone cover that stopped their fall they would have died not even knowing what hit them. Everything slowed down; the stone cover, the Light Crystals, Sonic's unconscious body. His eyes widened and his heart, breath and mind froze as soon as he realized that; he acted on instinct and clasped both his arms around the blue hedgehog's midsection ignoring the pain from his right wrist. Time resumed its normal pace as he started hovering; Sonic's head leaned on his left shoulder muttering something inaudible.

Shadow sighed releasing the big scare that he got some seconds earlier; the moment of relaxation didn't last too much as he realized that he was only slowing down the fall. The black hedgehog gritted his teeth and put more effort on the hovering; his legs started aching badly, but he didn't want to give up. It was too important for him; he couldn't afford to lose a family member; neither now nor ever.

Slowly, but surely, the descent became an ascent, and soon the black hedgehog reached the border of the pit; he hovered over the marble surface and stopped floating. He landed on the ground and let his tired legs relax "Sonic?" He called shaking the unconscious hedgehog in his arms. No response came from him; he was deeply out cold.

The moment of pace didn't last too long as another click resounded on the air; there was another rumble that grew dangerously louder as the seconds passed "Not again!" He complained cradling Sonic in his arms and running down the now dark path; he could hear that the rock was quickly gaining ground. He cursed under his breath for everything that was coming into his mind at the moment; the darkness, the loss of the crystals, the rock, _GUN_…

Shadow increased his speed as he felt the round rock at his back; he screamed as he tripped on something and went flying for several feet. He landed face first and went on several feet before he came to a stop. He prepared for the worst, but he was relieved as he heard the rock crash behind his back, then turn left; he curled up defending from the shards that flew on him. He stood still, hearing Sonic's soft breathings come from his side and feeling his throbbing wrist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He was lying on his right side and it was hot. It was _burning _hot. His fur was damped against him as his body produced sweat to cool him off; he could hear fire and electricity wildly crack in the air. His throat and mouth were completely dry, and he was scared; not scared at the fact that he was going to die, he was scared to loose something precious.

He opened his crimson eyes only to see fire dancing in front of him, and a fuzzy shape. He was giving him his back; he was like him, with upward quills, his fur was light but hard to determine its exact color. It could be orange, or white and colored orange by the flame's light or of another light color; he turned his head and looked at him with his burning, but sad, red eyes. The figure turned his head back and walked away, disappearing amongst the flames; some seconds later a huge explosion took place and destroyed almost everything. He closed his eyes as tears flowed down his face "Please… come back…"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shadow woke up panting "A dream… just a dream… calm down." He said slowing his breathings 'This time I was so near…' After a minute or so of recollection he returned to the main task; getting out of there safe and sound. Since his sight was useless in the deepest of the darkness he used his hearing; he could hear Sonic and a faint stomping noise from the far left 'Now how I'm supposed to get out of here if I can't see anything?'

Seconds passed in silence, scanned by the only two noises around 'Poor Sonic. He must have hit his head really hard to be still unconscious. Wait! Sonic's torch!' He thought sitting up. The black hedgehog crawled around his left, feeling with his good hand for his friend; he found him few feet away, lying on his stomach with arms lined along his body.

He felt his left wrist and sighed in relief; the torch was still there. He unclipped it from Sonic's wrist and felt around for a button or a lever. After a few seconds of search he gave up "Ok, no button or lever… Maybe twisting something…" Using his left hand he started to feel if something in the little thing could be twisted and found it to be on one of the ends of the torch. He cautiously twisted it and a cone of light illuminated a patch of the floor; he could see that Sonic was still deep asleep and that a few of his head's quills were stained with blood. Shadow looked at the blue hedgehog's head; fortunately the wound was rather small and had stopped bleeding soon.

The black hedgehog moved the torch and looked at the room; it was a long corridor, lined with semi-columns on each wall. On the right one, every two columns, there was a marble statue of this Lauren guy; its posture was like the one of the statues found on the shrine's entrance.

"I guess that I have to carry you around." He said sighing. The hedgehog rolled Sonic on his back so he could pick him up in his arms; his right one would lift the blue hedgehog's legs so the pain would be less. After doing that he stood up and walked down the path; the second noise that he heard was increasing, and sounded metallic 'What type of trap could be? Surely something big…'

His attention was snapped back to reality when he felt something pass whizzing in front of him; it was so close that he even felt the air move. The thing that missed his nose by mere inches bounced on the left wall and clattered on the ground. Shadow pointed the light to where the thing landed and something glittered. He went over and moved the little thing with his foot; it was a little metallic arrow. Almost two inches long and one large, the two sides had segmented edges, and it was rusty too. The ebony hedgehog gulped; just few inches ahead when the arrow passed and he would be dead.

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*Cracks back*  
End of chapter folks!

Next one:  
'Path of trials'  
(maybe)

Az


	11. Path Of Trials

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Authoress' Note:** Sorry for the delay of this chapter, but between Sonic Heroes (the third emerald was really a pain, but in the end I got it… now I have only to get all the A rank) and the move I haven't had much time for my fics…

**Authoress' Note2:** I'm really, really happy to knows that you all like the story! I just hope to not disappoint you with the next ones.

**Authoress' Note3:** Just a little note about the S-01 acronym that I forgot to say when it first came out, it is read a **S- O** (the letter, not the number… I don't know about you all, but sometimes I get confused between the two) **One**. And naturally the S-02 is **S - O Two**

**RichaCo:** And that I thought that it wasn't good like the seventh chapter (I don't know why, but I always fear that the readers will not like the new chapter). Don't worry, there'll be a little more of Knuckles/Rouge in the near future. Word of Az.  
For Sonic and Shadow… *laughs very maniacally* read and enjoy!

**Dragon Master Naya:** I'm always happy to see (or read) my reviewers. You know... you all give me strength to continue! So **review! Review! Review!**

**Firehedgehog:** Here's the next one! Enjoy!

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Path Of Trials

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Eggman walked happily down the corridor until he came in front of a double steel door; he stood in front of it and the sensor opened the automatic door "Finally the download is complete!" He exclaimed to himself walking to the computer and seeing the one hundred percent full bar blinking on it. The doctor closed the program and disconnected the two mechs from it; he walked to their heads and activated their 'brains' by pressing a little button on a little control panel.

"Wake and raise, my creations!" He said chuckling under his breath "Wake and raise…" He repeated as the two mechs' eyes turned on. The two sat up on the metal table and turned their heads towards their creator "What's our first mission?" The blue one asked still with its monotone voice; to an inexpert eye there weren't any change, but to Eggman, which was an expert, they had fairly improved. The man laughed again; this time Sonic was going to fall. This time the victory was his.

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The black hedgehog moved the light around the place in an attempt to find where the arrow came from; his red eyes fell on the open mouth of the statue. He hinted a smile and walked to it; he flashed the light into the hole and something metallic faintly glistened. It seemed some sort of mechanism; he turned around and looked at the floor. If he could find the trigger of the trap he could avoid the next ones, since the corridor was full of those statues.

Shadow looked down as the hedgehog in his arms mumbled something in his sleep; he watched him for some seconds in hope that he would wake up, but when he didn't he returned his attention to the floor. Some seconds later his eyes fell on a slightly raised brick "Here you are." He muttered walking in front of it.

The ebony hedgehog placed a foot on it and pushed; a clink later an arrow hit the opposite wall and fell to on the ground, next to the first one. Shadow smiled and pointed the light forward into the corridor; his smile faded away as he noted that the floor was filled with the same type of rocks.

Surely many of them triggered different traps, but he didn't have the possibility to try them all 'This is going to be hard…' He thought sighing as he looked for a safe path amongst all the random triggers. When he found one he started cautiously making his way through it jumping from spot to spot.

The black hedgehog finally reached the middle of the path where there were five or six feet of free ground and stopped; the last fifty feet of the corridor were entirely covered by the stone triggers in a chessboard manner minus a two feet wide square area in the middle of it. Shadow looked at it with narrowed eyes; he knew that it was another trap, and he wasn't going to fell for it.

He looked at the bricks; they were too little even for a single foot to stay in. He could do it if he went tiptoeing, but the risk to lose balance or to place a foot in the wrong position was too great; he simply couldn't afford to trigger one of the many traps. He sighed again and looked around with the aid of the torch for any type of clue that could help him get out of the trap filled corridor.

Shadow turned to the right, where the statues were and his eyes fell upon faint marks on the wall; it was like something, or someone was sent into it with such force that it left visible scrapes. They were at head's height and seemed to have something familiar; he kneeled and put the hedgehog in his arms on the ground leaning against the wall. He stood up again and touched the markings with his good hand, and again another memory returned to his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~  
This time he was in a bright metal room; it was empty of everything, minus several carcasses of robots. They were like the Hunters, but less complicated and without colors; they were equipped with simple stun rifles.

Shadow walked to the nearest robot and examined it; it was beyond repair and its head was missing completely. Looking up he saw some markings on the metal wall in front of him; he walked in front of the scrapes and touched them "You should react more actively… I won't always be here to cover your back…" Someone behind him said.

The voice of his interlocutor was young and foreign, yet it had something very familiar in it, like he had heard it recently. However, as much as he tried, he couldn't bring himself to remember where he had heard it "I know that… but I'm not fast and strong like you…"

The person behind him chuckled "You should stop that, Shadow. We are the same, yet we are different…" Shadow closed his eyes heartbroken "I know that… yet… I can't seem to reach you! Every time I make a progress, you make two of them!" He fell on his knees and started crying.

The hedgehog at his back kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder "Shadow, I know that you have my same abilities, but you can't achieve them unless you don't stop to underestimate yourself and your capabilities." There was a moment of silence "Besides I heard that a colleague of Gerald is trying to put together some sort of shoes based on Chaos Energy…"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~

The memory ended leaving a motionless black hedgehog staring at the wall; the only thing that was moving were his eyes, which darted from spot to spot on the brick vertical surface as his brain was trying to reach an answer to the many question that he had. He knew that it was his brother who spoke in his memory, yet he couldn't understand why he couldn't remember his name or his face.

Another question was why he was so weak back then and why he was so slow on making progress; then there were those words that his brother told him 'What he meant when he said that we were the same, yet we were different?'

Shadow sighed and let his head lean on the wall; thinking about it only gave him an enormous headache and more confusion over the whole story. Some seconds later he looked down at his blue double; so alike, yet so different…

His eyes widened in realization; that was what his brother meant. He smiled and kneeled again next to Sonic; he was still out and it seemed that he wasn't going to wake up that soon "You know, Sonic?" He asked whispering to the unconscious hedgehog "You seems to have all the answers to all of my questions… The question is…" He paused a little "_Why?_ It's because you have some of my brother's blood in you?"

Shadow stared at Sonic for some seconds before he stood up and looked again at the marks 'I'm sure that if I stay with you, everything will work out.' He smiled at the thought 'I may have lost my brother, but now I have you, Sonic.'

The black hedgehog put aside his thought regarding his family and stepped back from the wall; he stared at the markings deep in thought. He knew that they were left by hedgehog's quills, but why?

He turned around and faced the other wall; his mind started working the many possible answers and came with only one plausible. A hedgehog passed from here, found something interesting on the other wall, and somebody else hurled him, or her, into the wall to get first.

Shadow walked over the wall and noted a lone standing trigger on the floor; he backed some feet from it and analyzed the situation. A lone standing brick could mean that it was something to trigger a secret door in front of it, but it could also mean that it was another trap; not sure of it, he started looking around for something else.

The left wall presented only that lone trigger, the ground was bare and the right one presented only a column; he sighed and walked in front of the trigger. He kneeled and put his hand on it; some seconds later he retracted it and stood up. There was again that uneasy feeling that ran through his body that told him to not trust that trigger; he walked back again some feet and stared at the wall again.

It was now official that the trigger was a bad one; it was too visible to be a good one. He sat down and fell on his back a little discouraged; he was blocked and he couldn't find a safe way out. He faced the chessboard field deep in thinking; if only he was at the top of his energies he could cross it with a jump, and with Sonic in tow too.

Suddenly the light of the torch fell on a brick some feet into the field; it was different from the others and this attracted his attention. He stood up and kneeled in front of the field; the brick in question had a diamond shaped mark on its side and it was intriguing, to say the least.

The black hedgehog grinned; he had found the right trigger. He stood up again and carefully took aim; when he felt ready he jumped on it and steadied himself on the tiny spot. His head turned around as a rumble came from the left wall; like he had guessed, a secret door was slowly opening to reveal another passage.

Shadow jumped back and picked up in his arms the blue hedgehog, being very careful about his injured right wrist; he walked in front of the new dark passage and shone the light into it. It was empty, straight and unsuspicious; just two walls, a ceiling and a ground made of bricks put together.

His thoughts were interrupted as the wall stopped and slowly came back down; Shadow looked up at the approaching door and narrowed his eye a little in frustration. He sighed as there was no time to examine better the new passage; he walked into the new space and looked as the door finally closed him into it.

The black hedgehog looked at the spot illuminated by the torch and sighed; those ruins not only depleted one's physical energies, but also the mental ones. The path was constructed with deadly intents and only one with the right traits could surpass the whole thing; luckily he had many of said traits…

Again, his thoughts were interrupted, this time by the hedgehog in his arms that mumbled something really faint and moved a little; Shadow looked down, and through the faint light he could see something green faintly glisten.

"Sonic?" He called softly, as if scared to bring pain to the already battered blue hedgehog in his arms; there was a faint movement that came from him that told him that he was awake, or at least partially awake "Are you ok?"

Shadow felt him nod very faintly "Can… can you walk?" His hope for a help from the other hedgehog, even if slightly, faded away as he received no response; Sonic was out cold again. He sighed again and decided to go on; luckily for the moment he wasn't feeling that uneasy feeling that gave him the creeps and that usually came whenever he was near something bad and hidden.

The ebony hedgehog walked forwards with his senses under full alert for anything that could be a sign for a trap; he sighed with relief as he came to an opening in the right wall that conduced him back on the main course. That had been rather easy, but from now on it was going to be hard and deadly.

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Chaos stared at the big and red cloth that was sprawled on the desert floor; another one was about a hundred yards to the east, draped around a desert bush. He took the first one in his hand and examined it; the tissue was artificial, and many cords were attached to it. He didn't know what the whole thing was used for, but he knew that one of the hedgehogs had used it to escape.

Looking around he noted a ten feet raised rock; that would be a good spot where he could survey the entire zone. He walked to the rocky formation and jumped on it; he started slowly scanning the area in the direction opposite from where he came.

His eyes narrowed suddenly when he saw something glisten into the horizon; he knew only one thing that glistened like that. Metal.

He jumped down and started running towards it, hoping to find the hedgehogs and hoping dearly that they hadn't fell again under the grasp of those humans; yes, many of them were good people, but like that man had said, any of them had a choice but to execute the orders of a really evil man.

Minutes passed and he finally reached the source of the glistening; as he had previously guessed. The things that gave off that glistening were made of metal, and they were all over the place; he stopped and hid behind another rock formation. Spying the whole site he noted that they were interested into a huge hole in the ground; his green eyes narrowed. What had happened here?

Robots were taking away from the said hole rocks and parts of others robots and men were surveying their work; on the outside of the working perimeter there were metal carcasses and some smaller, but black, craters. They were strange, for a normal explosion couldn't do that; his eyes narrowed again. He now knew what, or who, had caused those craters; it was someone or something with the ability to harness the Chaos Energy.

Chaos looked down at the emerald embed into his arm, then back up at the site; something was going on, and the two hedgehogs were the targets of many sides. He had to help them for they held the answers to this entire situation, and because he had this sensation that if one of the evil sides that were into play managed to get their hold on them, then the planet would go into a chaotic and disastrous situation.

The watery beast looked at the landscape; something was very familiar, and for the moment he couldn't place a finger on it. Pushing the feeling in the back of his mind he slowly crawled to the site using the rocks to hide himself from the human's, and robot's, eyes.

He stopped as he came near the perimeter and used a car for cover; he put his head out of the hide and watched the scene. A human was speaking with a little thing in his hand "Commander, we reached the bottom of the crater, but the targets are not here. It seems that they fell through a crack in the ground." He said.

A weight was lift from Chaos' heart; the hedgehogs were still free, and hopefully alive. The water creature strained his hearing as the thing in the human's hands replied "Have you sent the robot scouts?" "Yes, they discovered a temple of some sort, but it's underwater and impracticable by any robot or human."

Chaos' eyes widened in shock for a fraction of a second; now he knew why the landscape was familiar in some ways. Some millennia ago, before he went mad, he had passed from here; in those days, however, the place was a prairie near a lush forest. The place had changed a lot, that's why he couldn't remember it clearly; also, the beautiful temple that was dedicated to Lauren was now underground, and according to the human, it was underwater too.

"Any trace of the hedgehogs?" The little thing asked. The man holding it shook lightly his head "No, Commander. They seems to have gone into the temple, and we do not know where they could be now."

The machine crackled for some seconds "Return to base, there's nothing much that we can do right now." The man holding the black little thing nodded "Yes, Sir." He said fidgeting a little with it. After he stopped he put it at his side and called for the other humans.

Chaos looked at them then he hastily returned behind the last rock he used; it took the humans a good half an hour to completely leave the zone, but in the end he was finally free to look at the crater.

The watery beast walked to the edge and looked down; sure enough there was a crack in the bottom, and it was wide enough to let a hedgehog freely fall into it. Chaos stared in thought; he knew that temple. In ancient times it was one of the seven temples that kept the Chaos Emeralds at the end of a deadly trial; only one person managed to reach their ends and recover all the powerful gems, and it always took him at least two days for path.

Chaos went down the slope and stared at the crack; he couldn't go down to help them since the trial was mostly based on lava. He looked up; instead he could go to the end and wait for them to show up. But again, the hedgehogs could have found another way out instead of the path of trials.

The water beast was confused and undecided; should he go down here and try to reach them despite the lava? Or should he wait for them at the end of the path with the risk of not finding them?

Chaos stared deep in thought; he knew Sonic to be a strong willed hedgehog, with a power that could reach his in some ways. And if the black hedgehog was like him, between the two of them they could clear the path without many troubles.

The creature made his version of a sigh and walked up the slope; he had to temp his luck going to the end of that path and wait for them, and maybe he could backtrack until he encountered them.

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In the little house-workshop located in the Mystic Ruins, a twin-tailed fox, an echidna, a bat and a hedgehog were patiently waiting for a sign from the two missing friends.

Suddenly the sound of a door that was slammed open echoed in the house and its vicinity; soon after a feminine voice called for her companions to reach her as soon as possible.

The red echidna that was on the roof, surveying the surroundings for enemies, nearly slipped down from it. He stood up and walked inside using a window near him, and helped increasing that rumble that was produced by the frantic beating on the floor by feet as all the inhabitants of the house reached the source of the call.

The fox was the first one into the computer room "What? What?" He asked to the white bat with pleading eyes. A pink hedgehog was the next "Have you found them, Rouge?" She asked with hope in her voice.

The red echidna was the last to arrive "You know Rouge? I think they heard you across the whole zone…" He said with a hint of a smile and of teasing. Rouge rolled her eyes and waved him off "Bhaa!" She said in response before putting a serious expression on her face.

"Anyway," She started sitting back on the chair "I found the files concerning Sonic and Shadow." She typed a few keys and a text file appeared on the screen.

"We recovered the targets, and brought them to our base in the desert. Everything went according to the plan, until the blue hedgehog rebelled and incredibly broke the bulletproof reinforced glass expressly forged to contain them."

"We sent a squad of robots to the lab, but it was a futile attempt as the blue hedgehog closed the door and destroyed the four robots that were in there. We managed to destroy the heavy metal door, and subdue the two hedgehogs, but for little time."

"The fight was lost and now the two fugitives are hiding somewhere in the base; however The blue one is heavily wounded to the legs and had lost much blood in the fight. Yet, we can't underestimate him as he is more dangerous than the black one."

"We discovered that Chaos, the same water beast that attacked Station Square, has discovered the failed specimens and destroyed them all. We don't know why he's here, but now he posses the yellow Chaos Emerald."

"This is a report from the base on Red Island. The previous base was blown up, the hedgehogs are somewhere into a ancient temple and cannot be reached by our men or robots, and Chaos is trying to reach them."

Rouge sighed and flopped back on the chair "This is what I managed to recover before I had to forcefully close the link." She said sadly. Tails was dumbfounded; he knew Sonic to be dangerous, but not _that_ dangerous.

The vulpine looked at Amy; in her eyes there was happiness, sadness and disbelief. Happiness because Sonic and Shadow had successfully escaped the lab, sadness because they were still out and pursued by the GUN and disbelief for the same reason he was.

Knuckles was also shocked for that; he knew Sonic to some extent and he knew that his willpower beat everything that came in front of him, but he never knew him to be so feared by those humans. Suddenly something clicked in his mind "Say Rouge, have you find the reason why they want Sonic besides Shadow?"

Rouge looked at him confused, then shook her head "No… I was going to find it out but the security found me and I had to break the link before they could track us down…" She responded lowering her ears in defeat.

Tails looked at the red male with curiosity "You seems to know why, Knuckles…" The echidna looked at him and sighed a little before turning to the white bat "Rouge, do you remember what we read in that folder about Shadow?" Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second "Yes, he had a brother, and if I'm thinking what are you thinking then…" "Then Sonic and Shadow are related in some ways." He finished for her.

Tails and Amy were shocked to hear that news; the vulpine was the first to recover "Wait… Shadow was created more than fifty years ago…" "Let me explain, Tails…" Rouge started attracting the attention of all her friends.

"Shadow's brother, who was labeled S-01, was classified dead after an explosion. Now, Shadow for some reasons has strong difficulties remembering about him, but before I went to the archives he came to me for help, saying that he dreamt something regarding his brother." She paused to look at her three listeners "His brother survived the explosion."

The fox and the hedgehog widened their eyes in shock "Then…" Amy started leaning on the door for support. Rouge nodded "Yes, it is possible that his brother went to the surface and had a family… which turns out to be Sonic's family."

The fox shook his head forcefully to clear his mind from the shock "Now I understand why they're so much alike…" He paused and paced a little into the room deep in thinking "But you know what? Sonic never speak of his family… like he never had one… I tried to ask him, but the answer was just a sad smile before he left without speaking."

The other three looked at him; why would Sonic be sad about his family? Unless…

Rouge turned around and resumed his work on the computer "What are you doing now?" Tails asked walking at her side "I'm searching info about Sonic's family…" She said connecting to the common net.

"It… it's no use, Rouge…" Amy said with her head bowed. The three turned and looked at her "There's… there's nothing about Sonic before he started fighting Eggman… It's like he never existed before that… no info, not even a birth certificate…nothing…" She said with a quivering voice.

The female bat stood up and walked in front of her; she put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it a little "What does this mean?" She finally asked looking up at the older female. Rouge shook her head "I don't know, Amy. But I'm going to find it out." And she took her cellular from her pocket.

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*Holds up hands*  
Whoa! Calm down people! I know that this is short, but hey! Reaching the 14 pages is a feat from my end.

Next one:  
???  
(I don't know at the moment, so this time it'll be a surprise!)

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	12. Everyone Wants Those Two Hedgehogs

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Authoress' Note:** You know what? I recently played with Sonic 1 for MD and it gave me such a huge inspiration (in comparison the moon is small…) that the part about the path will be much, much better than the part about the underwater temple.

**Authoress' Note2:** I'm glad that nobody was mad at me because I reduced the length of the chapters. Still, I'll try to keep them over the eight pages. I know how it feels… you always wanna read more…

**RichaCo:** Sonic and Shadow will have their hands full for a little longer (more than a little) because I discovered that I like to take it looooong…  
For Chaos, I have a little plot for him going in my head, and you'll see it in this chapter. And I tell you that it'll be very interesting (at least from my end).

**incomplete13:** That is something that I'll explain in the last part of this fic (towards the end, or maybe a little sooner. It depends on how my mind works…)

**Dragon Master Naya:** Chaos can't talk because he doesn't have a mouth (he can let out that howl directly from his water body (like a resonation), I think), but you can hear his thoughts through some sort of mental link that he has (and he share it only with the ones that he chose). The trick is… that you don't actually hear the words (like "Hello there, how are you?"), but the direct meaning of them.  
Hope I explained myself clearly. If you have some question regarding this (ore something else), just ask. I'll be more than glad to answer you.  
For the Ghostbusters thing… Although I really enjoyed the joke (made me smile widely), I'm afraid that Rouge is not going to call them. You'll find whom she called right in this chapter. Enjoy!

Now… _How the hell I'm gonna make Chaos interact with Sonic and Shadow?  
_This is quite the question, I must admit…  
**PS:** Hey, how my writing skill has become? Too much descriptive? Too much little dialogue?

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CHAPTER TWELVE

Everyone Wants Those Two Hedgehogs

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"So they have successfully escaped…" The general said without looking at the man that was standing in front of his desk; he was upset by the fact that they had lost them and he purely hated their luck. The man sighed and turned his armchair around, so he was finally facing his subordinate "Commander, we need to secure them as soon as possible. The top-secret project can't go on without them, and the truth about the two incidents happened on ARK _must_ stay secret."

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How much time he was walking, he wasn't sure; one, maybe two hours. Sometimes the blue hedgehog would wake up, but for only some seconds; it seemed that he was trying to regain consciousness so he wouldn't be anymore a burden to him. But no matter how he tried, every time he would wake up the tiredness would just push him back to sleep.

Shadow's mind went back to the place they were in; it seemed that they had ended up into a giant corkscrew, always going down and turning to the left. Luckily that part was just bare rock without any sort of trap, and that the air was less hot than before; the downside was that it was dark and damp, and that the metal stumping was increasing in intensity.

Shadow yawned and stretched as far as he could go with his blue doppelganger in his arms; he was starting to feel tired too, but he decided to go on for a little longer. Even if this place was without traps, it was not a good place to take a rest; there was something wrong in the place that he couldn't understand, and his sixth sense was telling to him to not stop there.

Suddenly the fur on his back stood on end; that was a really bad sign. Not wanting to know what was coming, he started running as fast as he could, but because he was tired and because he was carrying Sonic, his pace was considerably slowed down; he was just a little faster than a good human runner at his max.

The black hedgehog knew that whatever was coming his way was gaining on him, and quickly too; he had to reach the end of the giant corkscrew before it, or they would be both dead. He gritted his teeth and strained his legs to go a little faster; no way that he was going to lose, no way that he was going to die here and lose the only member of his family in the process.

Shadow bit back a scream of pain; his legs weren't capable to sustain that type of run, but he was too weak to activate his special shoes. Soon an orange light illuminated the corridor from behind him, and he instantly knew what it was; lava.

When he thought that his legs would fail him, he saw the end; the passage was four feet from the ground, and right in front of it there was a hole that was five feet long.

The hedgehog had no time to plan the jump, so he had to take the risk; he just hoped that his legs would endure the shock. The hole approached and he mustered all his strength on his legs; at the edge he crouched, and used the speed to his advantage.

Shadow extended his legs and he felt himself go airborne; like he hoped, he had perfectly aimed the entrance, and he soon touched ground. His legs instantly gave away and he fell forwards; in the little time he had, he swirled around and hit the ground with his back.

Not caring about the pain on his legs he raised his head; Sonic was safely laying on his stomach and his head was well away from the ground. He sighed and let his head rest on the new ground; that run greatly strained his legs and the fall gave him a not too soft blow on his shoulders, but he had successfully saved the blue hedgehog from further damage. Not to mention that he successfully escaped from a sure death.

The black hedgehog remained on his back for some minutes, letting his legs rest from that strain; when the pain subsided, he sat up. Sonic was still in his arms, and it seemed that he wasn't going to wake up soon; Shadow just hoped that he was ok.

Looking at the corkscrew path, he noticed that the lava was still flowing down, and that it was falling in the hole right in front of the entrance; why it started going down only when he was almost at the end was a mystery. Maybe it came down at regular intervals; that explained why he didn't felt uneasy, yet his sixth sense was telling him to not stop.

Shadow sighed and stood up, noticing that he could feel no more his legs; he knew that they were there, but it was like they weren't. The only pain that he could feel was the one in his right wrist; luckily he was so busy in there that sometime he wouldn't feel it.

Another thing that he noticed was that now the stomping noise was almost unbearable for his ears; turning around he felt what little energy he had recovered go away. Almost on the verge of giving up, he slowly fell on his knees; in front of him a big square piece of iron with spike on its lower side was being slowly pulled up by a thick chain, then it would stop for a fraction of a second and after a click it would heavily fall down on the ground.

Shadow slowly inhaled and exhaled to prevent himself from going into a 'crying from despair' mode; after he felt calm and collected he turned off the torch that was into his left hand and clasped it back on Sonic's left wrist. It took him a little effort to complete the task, but in the end it was firmly secured on its rightful place.

The new corridor was fifteen feet wide and it had an orange coloration thanks to the light that came from the lava that was into two fissures at the sides of the path, right near the wall; the deadly contraption was ten feet from him, and under it several pieces of skeletons were constantly beaten to dust.

The black hedgehog examined the whole thing carefully for a way to surpass it; it took six seconds to go up, and nothing to come back down. Just behind it there were two rows of spikes arranged in a alternate way that was coming out of the ground every three seconds; after the spikes, two feet away, there was something that looked like a hole full of lava.

Shadow stood up and took his time to find the right time for passing that; when he managed to time the cadence of the two traps he walked near the 'Spiked Mincer', how he called it, and waited for it to came back down. When the thing slowly started raising he waited until it was high enough to let him pass full standing up.

The spikes on the ground came back up and he waited a little; as soon as he felt it, he ran. The Spiked Mincer was almost at its end, but a second for him was enough, were for a normal being was too scarce; the spikes retracted and he ran forward again. The heavy trap fell on the floor as soon as he left the ground under it.

His perfect timing made him touch that two feet of safe ground without getting a scratch on his or Sonic's body; he sighed with relief as he felt that he was momentarily out of danger. Returning back to his present task he looked at the pit; it was at least ten feet longs and took the entire wideness of the corridor. Right on the center of the pit there was a block of marble that was two feet wide and two longs; it was one foot out of the hot liquid.

Shifting a little on his feet he aimed at it and, just hoping that it could support his and Sonic's weight, he jumped; his landing on the block was successful, but his moment of rejoice was ruined as he felt that the cube of marble was slowly going down.

Not wanting to wait for it to completely go under, he jumped on the other side and turned around. To his surprise the block of marble was going back to his previous position with the same pace as it was going down with him on it; he lifted an eyebrow at that. He never heard of big pieces of rocks that could float like that on lava.

Shadow sighed and turned back to face the right way of the path; it was without Spiked Mincers, holes for the hidden ones or pits. But if it was so plain, then why his sixth sense was screaming for him to get the hell out of there?

Suddenly his ears picked up a faint sound coming from the dark and distant ceiling; his eyes widened in sudden realization and he immediately started running forwards as fast as he could. He nearly lost his foot every time there was something really heavy that hit the ground behind him; in the end, however, he managed to outmatch them.

His heart dropped as he came to a premature end; it was a wall without openings, stairs or other things that could help him get out of there. He turned around and saw what was coming down; they were something like the Spiked Mincers, but they were littler and they were lacking the spikes. The things were just a little less tall than him, tubular in shape and took almost the entire wideness of the corridor.

Four more to go, and it'll be the turn of the one right over his head.

He pressed his back on the wall and hoped that the one over him would miss him.

Three…

His heart fell once again and he felt his eyes well up with tears as he saw the spacing between the already fallen Mincers; the one over his head would surely squash him and the hedgehog in his arms.

Two…

"There's always an exit to every situation…" Shadow looked down at Sonic; it had been just a faint whisper, but his keen hearing had picked it up like it had been spoken normally.

One…

With no time to wonder, Shadow started looking around frantically; if what Sonic said was true, then maybe…

His eyes fell on the ground; there was a circular dip that marked the landing spot of the Mincer. Strangely enough there was another circle into that, and it was raised. It was enough wide to let two standing hedgehogs stand there; not wanting to waste the golden opportunity he stood on the circle and slipped his arms around the blue hedgehog's torso, so he could held him into a standing position.

Zero. The next one was his…

His eyes closed and he tightly held Sonic for fear to lose him; he knew that the Mincer would come down in any moment, but for some unknown reason it was like an eternity to him. Also, even if he knew that the spot where they were standing was safe, he couldn't stop his mind from being scared to die.

It was fairly strange; before he fully knew Sonic, he wanted to live just to keep his promise to Maria, but now it was so different. The blue hedgehog had filled him with that strong wish of life, and now he wasn't capable to renounce at it.

The Mincer fell and Shadow nearly lost his balance because of the shaking and strong wind caused by the impact; his eyes snapped open. They were still alive, and right in the center of a holed Mincer; the heavy thing was different from the others as it was not only holed, but also just a foot high. And meanwhile the other had only a chain, this one had four of them, five feet longs, that connected into a larger one.

Shadow smiled and greatly felt relieved; they were still alive. He gulped down his emotions and sat on the Mincer as it was slowly being pulled back up; he pulled his blue double up with him and put him between himself and a chain "Thank you, Sonic."

The ebony hedgehog smiled as he saw that the other hedgehog had a faint smile on his lips; even if his body was not working like he wanted, his senses and his mind were full aware and doing their job.

The hedgehog looked up; the ceiling wasn't visible, and something told him that this was another long ride. And maybe Sonic was finally going to fully wake up too…

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Chaos was running as fast as he could through the rocky desert; he had tirelessly ran for the entire day of yesterday and night, and he was now really close to the mountains. Behind them, he would finally find the end of the path and, hopefully, the hedgehogs.

Suddenly the water being stopped and looked towards east, where the sun was just peeking from the horizon; he could sense an emerald, but the strange thing was that it was moving towards his way. He fully faced the direction and narrowed his eyes; something on the back of his mind was telling him that whoever, or whatever was carrying the emerald was coming his way for his.

Chaos turned his head to look at the mountains at the north, then back at the plain that was stretching on the east; with a quick decision he started running towards his original objective. If he remembered well the site was right in the middle of a water area with ancient ruins, and that would greatly advantage him in the battle; he just hoped that it hadn't changed over the millennia.

The water creature increased his run, but he suddenly stopped as a bright light appeared right in front of him; his hand quickly traveled over his eyes to protect them from the intensity of the light, and when he took it away what he saw made him take a step backwards.

It was huge, brown and gray, and it had a huge, but controlled, hunger for Chaos Energy; the thing reminded him of a lizard and she had on her back some sort of round broken machine. The beast seemed to have been through something hellish as there were several scars on her body, but she seemed to quickly recover; even her left fore leg and both the hind ones were slowly reforming. She lowered her head to look at Chaos, then she shifter her hidden eyes on his emerald.

Chaos narrowed his eyes; there was no way that the big lizard was going to take away the Chaos Emerald that he possessed. He took a step backwards and brought his right arm behind his back; it was a clear sign that he wasn't going to give the gem away that easily.

The lizard growled in response and fully raised her neck to let out a powerful growl; she wanted the emerald, and there was no way that a watery thing would prevent her from getting it. She reared her head backwards and with a swift forward movement she released a huge black sphere of energy.

Chaos jumped to the right side and successfully avoided the blast; he ran towards the now lowered lizard's neck and reared back his right arm. The blow released was powerful enough to make her head and neck go to the left; when the movement stopped she found herself gazing at her side.

The BioLizard's head returned to look at Chaos; he was strong, yes, but she wasn't going to forfeit the fight. She wanted the emerald at all cost; the others were momentarily unattainable, and his was the only one at her reach.

The water beast stared back and narrowed his eyes; this was going to be a tough fight. Not to mention that both of them had a Chaos Emerald from where they could attain supplementary energy.

Suddenly in Chaos's mind a thought made its way to his conscious area; she wanted the emeralds because she was hungry for their energy, but there must had been another reason. He knew that the lizard was in full control of it and of her thoughts.

The water creature stared up at the lizard; what was she planning? Surely not something good.

The BioLizard seemed to sense his confusion over what she wanted to do and in response she raised her head toward the sky and let loose some short cries; then she lowered it and raised her right foreleg and smashed it hard on the ground, crushing whatever was under it.

Chaos' eyes widened; what she wanted to do was to be venerated like a god and bring destruction and despair on the planet, and to do that she needed all the seven Chaos Emerald. The water beast narrowed his eyes and clenched his right fist; he was going to deliver another blow at her head, but stopped as she looked in the direction of the mountains on the north.

Once again, Chaos' eyes widened in shock; she also wanted the two hedgehogs, and she knew where she could find them. Thanks to his involuntary lead…

He pondered; what she wanted from them? He sensed her anger towards them, but there was more. Before he could answer his question he had to duck to avoid another of her black spheres; he stood up and looked at her with narrowed eyes. This was not the time to wonder, but the time to fight a powerful opponent.

Chaos avoided another energy attack by jumping left; he ran to her side and delivered a blow on some fissures that looked like gills. The lizard threw her head backwards and let a pained scream resound on the air; after that she looked back down and growled deeply. He had hurt her, and now she was angry.

The BioLizard turned around with her body and delivered a mighty hit with her neck to Chaos' right side; the water creature was flung several feet away, and he splashed on the ground. He reformed and shook his head a little to get rid of the dizziness that he was feeling; she was stronger than he was, but on the other hand he was faster than she was.

He looked back at her and instantly understood that she was aware of their differences too; he had to be careful from now on. His adversary was intelligent, and she was surely going to play some dirty tricks.

Chaos swore that she was smiling; it was not visible on her mouth, but something on the back of his mind was telling him that she was doing it. He saw the lizard threw her head back and scream; some seconds later a bunch of red things appeared floating around her.

With a swift forwards swing and another scream the BioLizard threw the red things at Chaos; if she had the possibility she would have laughed madly. Soon, her 'laugh' stopped, leaving a shocked feeling in her; the water creature was dodging all her explosive projectiles.

When he saw that he was almost done dodging the new attack, Chaos gripped a projectile in a way that didn't explode and threw it back at his enemy; the red bulled traveled quickly, and collided into the BioLizard's open mouth.

The big beast threw her head back again, and let another scream leave her throat; that was it, that made her more angry than she actually was. She quickly looked back at him and growled in anger; she didn't want to lose again.

She opened her mouth and started charging up for another energy sphere; some seconds later she aimed her opponent and fired. The black sphere was bigger than the others and the purple lightning were more frequents; the energy attack traveled faster and collided with its target.

When the dust cleared the BioLizard felt pleased with herself; the little water beast was nowhere to be found. She raised her head and looked around for the emerald that he had; after several seconds of search she growled in frustration.

What she missed to see was that Chaos was slowly coming out of the ground at her back in a form of a puddle; he silently reformed his body and burst into a sprint towards the lizard letting a war like scream resound on the morning air of the desert.

The BioLizard whipped her head to look at her back, but ended in only getting a mighty uppercut from her enemy; her head flung upward and she let out a low cry of surprise. Luckily for her, her thick skin was preventing any damage; after the strength of the blow died down she looked back down, only to find that Chaos was not there.

After delivering the uppercut at her head, the water creature had run on her other side; he knew that her skin was too strong to be hurt in any way. He had to find a weak spot, or this would prove to be a defeat on his part, and a fate worse than death for the hedgehogs; he knew it.

Chaos examined carefully her side; the only things worth of attention were those gills. He had delivered a blow before, and she seemed to have felt the pain of it; he clenched his right fist and started to run for the hit.

He was nearly there when he saw the enemy turn around; he threw himself on the ground and felt the air above his water body move like a gust of wind. He stood up and ran out of her range; he had avoided a hit, but he also lost the possibility for one of his own.

Chaos stopped and turned around to face the BioLizard; she was looking right at him. They both knew that a minimal distraction made the other win the battle.

The lizard opened her mouth and let loose a barrage of black sphere; the attacks were faster than Chaos, but luckily the azure creature avoided them all by melting into the ground. When he reappeared he was right in front of the gills on her right side.

Chaos ran forwards and hit the gills with all his strength; meanwhile the lizard screamed in agony he ran away from her physical range. The BioLizard lowered her head and tried to bite him; she missed the hit only by a few feet.

The lizard stared at him for a few seconds; he was too agile for her to hit. She had to think about something that could help her to get him, or this was going to be a loosing fight for her.

Chaos stared back; he knew that now his opponent was going to use dirty tricks to get him. He had to pay more attention at her from now on.

The two opponents stared at each other for several seconds, contemplating at their next move and at the next move of their opponent; both knew that the other knew. If both fought honestly the fight would surely end in a draw; but neither he nor she wanted to lose.

Chaos narrowed his eyes, making the lizard preoccupied over what he wanted to do; she backtracked just to be safe, but she became shocked as the water creature ran to her side, standing out of her reach, aimed her gills and extended his right arm. Again, she felt the pain of the hit and screamed.

Tired to be continuously hit by some walking water, the BioLizard waited for him to extend again his right arm to deliver another hit; she backtracked and watched him ran to her other side. She also attacked him to cover her real intention, but missed voluntarily; she needed him to attack.

When Chaos extended again his right arm the big lizard swung her head and intercepted it; the water beast stared in shock as his opponent bit down on his arm. The arm exploded in various drops of different size that fell everywhere on the ground, wetting it; the Chaos Emerald, however, remained into her mouth.

Chaos recalled back the water that he lost and reformed his arm; looking up his eyes narrowed in rage. The lizard had tricked him pretty well, and now she was showing him her trophy between her jaws; with a pleased growl she threw back her head and swallowed the shiny gem.

Chaos nearly boiled from the anger that he was feeling; he had lost, and now the hedgehogs were in deep danger. He saw her look at the northern mountains and emit a low pleased growl; his eyes narrowed more, there was still time to prevent her from getting them, and if that place was till water base, he could easily outmatch her.

The BioLizard committed the error to not mind anymore her adversary; she didn't even felt him cling to her tail as she teleported away from the desert and to the new site.

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Rouge dialed a number on her cell, then another interminable sequence "Now we only have to wait for my friend to come here and help us." She said placing the little phone on the desk of the computer.

Knuckles crossed his arms and leaned on the wall "Your friend?" He asked raising an eyebrow. His eyes had an unknown sparkle to him, and he was trying hard to not narrow his eyes.

The white bat saw his eyes and smiled widely; she wasn't expecting that hint of a gaze that soon. She sat on the chair and crossed her legs "He's a friend of mine since we were little. We both took the way of the spy. We also have our personal secret code." She explained smiling widely.

Tails and Amy stared at the two treasure hunters with wonder; there was a strange friction going between them.

The echidna hinted a sigh and stood up "Can we trust him?" He asked uncrossing his arms. He couldn't understand why he was so upset at the fact that she had mentioned a friend; it was like he wanted to bash whoever he was.

Rouge observed him; it was clear as a sunny day. He _was_ jealous; his eyes were betraying him. The only question was if he knew what he was feeling; being cooped up on that flying island for his whole life made him a simple person, who didn't know what jealousy, love and other deep sentiments were.

The white bat was just grateful that Eggman discovered his island and brought the fight over it; between the doctor and Sonic, his flat life was literally messed up forever. He also told her that now he was happy to have friends like Sonic and Tails; and his mind seemed freer from his duty.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow at her silence "Rouge?" He asked almost waving a hand in front of her eyes. The female snapped to attention and looked at him "Sorry, I was thinking about something." She said hiding the fact that she was thinking at him "Anyway, yes. We can surely trust him. We can say that he's like a brother to me."

The echidna felt the need to take a deep breath of relief; after he heard her tell him that he was just like a brother to her he felt really relieved "When he'll be here?" Rouge snickered uncontrollably "Knowing him he's going to storm here as fast as he can. That means a hour maximum."

Suddenly the bat turned serious "Anyway guys, and gals, we have to keep our eyes really open for the GUN agents. I know them pretty well, and they are surely planning a raid on this house." She then turned to the fox "Tails, have you something that could help us? I don't know… something like cameras or perimetrical sensors?"

The vulpine thought for several seconds at what the bat asked, then his fingers snapped "I have some infrared cameras." He saw Rouge nod her approval and after a quick smile he dashed out of the door to go into his basement, where he kept everything he had but that he didn't use often.

The female treasure hunter looked at Amy "Can you go help him? We need those cameras set up as soon as possible." She said smiling politely. The pink hedgehog nodded and ran after Tails screaming at him to wait for her.

Now only the two treasure hunters remained in the room; a silence dropped between them. It was long and uneasy, and Rouge decided to break it by flopping on the chair sighing; the male looked at her "You ok?" He asked a little concerned.

Rouge nodded "Yeah. Just a little under stress. This situation is turning out to be more complicated than the whole ARK and Chaos incidents put together…" The echidna walked behind the chair and started massaging her shoulders "I know… Sonic and Shadow are who knows were. And it seems that everyone is after them for their own interests. Not to mention that Chaos is in here too…"

The bat nearly melted when he started the massage, but she managed to let only a delighted moan leave her throat "How many sides are involved in this story?" She asked relaxing under his strong, but gentle touch "Well, we are one. Then there's this GUN, the BioLizard, Chaos and lastly Eggman." He paused a little "I think that it's all."

Rouge sighed and let her eyes close "Five… and we are all after them… why?" Knuckles stopped briefly, but resumed as soon as he realized that "Well, we are on their side, so this make us the good people. Then there's Chaos, but the GUN report didn't say why he was after them. This makes him a neutral side… for now."

"Eggman wants them dead, so he can go on with his plan…" She continued for him "The GUN surely wants them for unknown military purposes. But the BioLizard? Is she here to just kill them and destroy the world like Gerald programmed her?" She asked to herself and to Knuckles.

The echidna passed to the base of her neck "I think that she has something specific in her mind. If she just wanted to kill them and destroy the world she would have started it as soon as she put foot on the planet…" Rouge sighed once again "You're right, Knuckles… you're right…"

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Now, **I'm really proud of this chapter!** Sonic 1 really gave me the Inspiration (note the capital) I needed. I'm so happy that I could touch a star with a single jump *Smiles and dances around with chair*  
And what about the 'Chaos against BioLizard' idea? Isn't that something like 'epic'?  
Sorry about my enthusiasm, but I'm really, really proud of this chapter.

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	13. Battle In The Water Ruins

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Authoress' Note:** WOW! A record update! Enjoy!

**Dragon Master Naya:** He'll materially show up in this chapter. And I literally have no clue how to make Chaos interact with them… Between him and the BioLizard was rather easy since they both can't talk, but with the hedgehogs it'll be hard since they can talk… oh well… I'll think about it when I'll get to the problem.  
**PS:** Just for curiosity, where do you live?

**RichaCo:** Ahem… I wrote a whole battle against Sonic, Shadow and the BioLizard in the second chapter of this fic, and she made an appearance in the ninth chapter too…  
If you're crafty, you can understand what she wants from them by a hint in this chapter.  
For Rouge and Knuckles, I think that you'll have to wait. If my mind works on that, it'll be next one.  
**PS:** You'll probably be very happy since I updated this soon.

**Notice:** Keep in mind the Aquatic Ruins of Sonic 2. It'll help you.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Battle In The Water Ruins

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Shadow looked up and hinted a smile; on the end wall, near the ceiling there was a ten feet tall opening. Two little falls of lava, one on each side and a foot wide, were falling into two big bowls of five feet of diameter; then, the excessive hot liquid fell into an opening in the wall next to the basins through the open mouth of Lauren.

The black hedgehog stood up and picked Sonic in his arms; when the Holed Mincer reached the opening he jumped for fear that the trap was or going to squash him under the ceiling or going to fall back down.

He landed on the new ground and turned around; the Mincer stopped on the ceiling and never came back down again. He turned back again and stared at the corridor; a deep sigh left his lungs in a fed up manner. What he saw was another pit of lava, but this time it was ten times longer than the previous one and the blocks of marble were ten feet from each other "Wonderful…"

A sudden light movement coming from his blue double caught his attention; he kneeled down and gently put him on the ground, holding up only his upper body. The blue hedgehog's eyes flickered open just by a crack "Hey…" He muttered managing a faint smile.

Shadow sat down and shifted around a little to find a comfortable position for him and Sonic; he found it in having his left leg spread forwards and the right one folded under it. His left arm was keeping the blue hero up and his right one was resting lazily on his folded leg "Hey…" He greeted back "How are you feeling now?"

Sonic's smile flickered a little; it was like the hero was struggling just to keep it "I won't lie to you, Shadow." He paused and shifted a little to find an even comfier position. Two seconds later he gave up as he found that the black hedgehog had already found the best one "I have a heck of a headache."

Shadow hummed amused "Well, after all what you went through I'm surprised that you have just a headache." He said looking up at the pit for a second. He looked back down as he felt his double sigh heavily "No, Shadow… this is different from a normal headache. My brain is throbbing heavily and it's like my own skull is crushing it. The pain is almost unbearable…"

The ebony hedgehog fell silent; he could see Sonic's distressed status only by looking in his eyes. They had changed from a lively green to a dull one and his pupils were wide and a little vacant.

The blue hero turned his eyes to the pit of lava "We should continue…" He said trying to fully sit up. Shadow stopped him by putting his right hand on his right shoulder, and had to grit his teeth at the pain from his wrist "With you in this condition? I'm not sure of it, Sonic."

Sonic looked back at his black counterpart "I can manage, besides this is not a good spot to rest. The hotness of the place will quickly deplete what little water we have left in our bodies. And if we stop we will die since nobody knows that we're here."

Shadow hummed and watched the bubbles of lava explode as they reached the two inches of diameter "You're right, Sonic. But you know that moving with you in these conditions is risky…" He said sounding preoccupied.

The blue hero smiled "Why are you so preoccupied for me?" He said sitting up with the help of the other hedgehog. He watched as his double thought at what to answer; seconds later he sighed and looked down at the ground "Well, Sonic… it's because… of my brother…"

Sonic raised an eyebrow "Your brother? You have a brother?" He asked with a shocked, but faint voice. The blue hedgehog watched as the other gave him only silence; why Shadow's brother was involved into the fact that he was preoccupied for him?

Not being able to think straight with his splitting headache, he placed his right hand on Shadow's left shoulder "Shadow?"

The black hedgehog glanced up briefly, then he resumed staring at the brick surface "Well… it's more right to say that 'I had'…" A pause to take a breath "After an explosion my brother came here and had a family…" He looked up to watch in the green eyes of his counterpart that were slowly releasing tears "Yes Sonic. You're the last of his family… and that makes you my family…"

Sonic stared disbelieved "After five long years… I finally know…" He would have cried out loud for that, but that would have aggravated his already terrible headache. The blue hedgehog placed his other hand on Shadow's other shoulder "Why… why I didn't think about it sooner? It was too much to be just a normal coincidence."

Deep into his vacant eyes Shadow could see happiness "I'm sorry if I didn't tell you sooner about this…" He said a little sadly. He saw the blue hedgehog slowly and faintly shake his head, then stop abruptly and bring his left hand over his closed eyes "Don't worry about it." He said waving on the spot.

Shadow placed both his hands on his shoulder and prevented him from falling down; whatever he had, it gave him great pain and a little vacant gaze. Also, little movements gave him a heavy dizziness.

Shadow hated to move him in these conditions, but like Sonic had said, they couldn't afford to stop; now more than before they needed to get out of that hellhole. He slowly helped the blue hedgehog on his feet and watched his behavior; upon seeing that he waved dangerously he brought his right arm around his neck and placed his own left arm around his waist "Damn it, Sonic. You're in a really bad shape."

Sonic murmured under his breath and let his body go limp; the black hedgehog looked at him preoccupied, then he slowly accompanied the hero back on the ground and massaged his back. The blue hedgehog stood on his fours and let his head hung loose; it seemed that he was going to throw up soon.

Fortunately Sonic's stomach was empty, and the hedgehog had only two fits "I think… that this is not… a good sign…" He muttered trying to subside the dizziness he had. A minute later he slowly sat up and barely opened his eyes; as soon as he did that the dizziness increased. He moaned again and closed his eyes, his right hand traveling over them "Definitively not a goon sign…"

Shadow sighed for the nth time "I guess that I'll have to carry you around… besides, I don't think that you'll be able to jump across the pit of lava in this status…" He said picking him up slowly to prevent further dizziness.

Sonic gritted his teeth and successfully stabilized his stomach before he had other fits "Anyway… how do I call you now? 'Great uncle'? 'Uncle'?" He said smiling and putting his right arm around Shadow's neck.

The black hedgehog smiled amused and shook his head "You're amusing Sonic… really! You're in _this_ status and the only thing that you can think about is how to call me?" He commented using a soft tone of voice. And it seemed that the blue hedgehog was really grateful for his choice.

Sonic chuckled faintly "So… do I have to call you 'great uncle' or 'uncle'?" He asked again closing his eyes. Keeping them open was giving his already headache a mayor boost, and it was already unbearable at that point; no need in increasing it.

Shadow stopped on the brim of the pit "Do you want to be called 'nephew' or 'grand nephew'?" He countered back taking aim for the first block of floating marble.

Sonic hummed under his breath in a thinking fashion "You know what?" He paused for a hum from the other hedgehog "That doesn't sound right."

Shadow was on the point of jumping, but when Sonic spoke he stopped dead in his track and righted himself "What do you mean with that?" He received only silence as the blue hedgehog was once again unconscious.

He looked down at him and frowned; Sonic was definitively in a really bad shape. Maybe the combination of the blood loss and the nasty hit in the back of his head procured him something bad; with a determined expression he looked up. He had to get out of that place; Sonic needed medical attention, and fast too.

He took a quick aim and jumped on the first block, but unlike the other this was going under faster; not wanting to feel lava on his persona he jumped on the next one, and had to duck as he felt a click and a successive clink on the left wall. Feeling that the block was stable he looked at the right one; right at his head height there was a fist-sized hole.

Murmuring something under his breath over the line that he was tired of the place and that he wanted to get out, he took aim for the third block; with a jump he landed on it. He jumped again as the marble slowly went down.

This went on until he arrived on the other edge; with a sigh he walked away from the pit. After two minutes of walk he found himself in front of a new blind alley; he slowly made his way in front of it and examined the wall.

It was a plain brick surface with some horizontal holes that drew an ascending path that went right; they were two feet wide and an inch tall. They were too distant from each other to use them for climbing; if there was something into them, like a table, he could easily jump from one another.

Taking a step backward to examine better the wall, he heard a click resound into the empty air and something fall behind his back; he turned around in the new obscurity and growled frustrated. He was trapped, and the only way out was up.

Suddenly something metallic resounded in the air and from the darkness over his head he could see orange; his eyes widened in sudden realization. Lava was coming down his way, and in a second or two he would be submerged by it; looking around in the increasing faint light he saw something came out of the holes in the wall. By a quick examination he could understand that it was a square piece of rust metal.

Not thinking about the fact that those things were highly unstable under his weight, he jumped on the first, then to the second; every plate gave off under his weight and fell on the ground. When he reached the third plate a column of lava hit the ground, quickly filling the hole; the column itself gave him only two feet and half of space.

Shadow continued to jump from plate to plate not minding that the fur on his right side was slowly burning; he also didn't notice that his and Sonic's body were sweating profusely for the excessive hotness. His pace increased as the hot liquid was quickly gaining on him.

After interminable seconds of quick climb he finally reached the top; he jumped on safe ground and turned around. The lava was almost near the top, but when it almost reached the brim the fall slowly stopped; now the hot liquid was only a foot away from breaking free from the hole.

A sudden burning sensation on his right side made him wince visibly; he looked down at his arm and his eyes widened. His fur was totally burned and his dark skin presented a visible burn that was covering all his arm, minus his wrist and hand; his left leg was suffering from the same problem, like his torso, a little of his face and Sonic's legs.

Luckily the bandages gave much of his lower legs some sort of protection, so only his ankles and knees were really damaged; also, being nearer to the lava, the blue hero's ankles were more burned than any part of his body. His shoes, like his, instead, were like new since they were built to sustain the great friction of when he was running at great speed.

Shadow growled under his breath, but stopped soon as Sonic murmured something; with a sigh and a shook of his head he walked to the wall and carefully sat him with his back on the vertical surface. He kneeled down in front of him and examined the bandages; their edges were black and he was undecided if leaving them there or not.

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The BioLizard appeared on a raised block of ground big enough to keep her out of the water; her massive tail hung loosely down and into the water. The ruins were full of plants with red berries, and sometimes the rich vegetation directly supported a building; but this was not where the majority of the decaying buildings were, for they were resting underwater.

This was what Chaos hoped for; the place hadn't changed too much over the millennia. There was just more vegetation and the water was five feet higher than last time he had been there; also, the area was bigger and in the distance he could see two or three tall standing buildings. They were like the ones he saw on the city that he attacked six months ago.

Looking around, the water creature noticed the exit of the path; it was well hidden by the local plants and it seemed that the lizard didn't see it yet. He let his grip on her tail go and silently slashed into the clear water; his mind instantly scanned the surrounding underwater area and memorized it like the back of his hand.

After he finished Chaos looked up at his enemy; she was looking around for the hedgehogs and she was unaware of him. His eyes narrowed in decision; she was unaware of him? Good. He had the advantage of surprise attack, and he wasn't going to ruin it.

He swam to her right side and positioned himself right under the gills; with a powerful thrust he jumped out of the water and extended his right arm. The blow was terribly powerful and made the lizard throw her head up and scream with all her lungs; the cry sounded extremely pained.

The big creature whipped her head to her right and saw something familiar splash back into the water; she growled angered and frustrated. Her enemy had followed her, and he seemed settled on preventing her from taking the hedgehogs.

She lowered her neck over the water surface and looked under it; she saw something pass quickly, then she had to scream in pain again as she felt that he scored another hit on her left gills. When the pain subsided she looked at her left and once again she saw something underwater disappear amongst the algas.

Chaos poked his head out of the water right in front of the BioLizard's muzzle; the two looked at each other in the eyes for a brief moment before he narrowed his and whirled around to give a backhanded slap on the left side of her head.

The lizard's head was swung to the right and when she looked back the water creature was nowhere to be seen; she growled lowly and thought at a strategy to get rid of him. What came into her mind made her think; she was there expressly for the hedgehog, but what about him?

The mad beast watched as Chaos pocked his head again out of the water; he was fifty feet away from her block of earth and out of her physical reach. She stared at him and slowly opened and closed her mouth; his energy was too different from hers and the hedgehogs', but she could still try.

In a provocative intent, she reared back her head a little and attacked him with an energy sphere; Chaos avoided it by going under and the attack made the surface water fly up in the air for several feet. The lizard, then, waited for him to attack her, and when she heard him jump into the air she whipped her head around and caught him in her jaws.

The watery creature was shocked at that, and didn't react when he felt her throw her head up; in his mind he wondered what she was trying to do. Not really wanting to wait for her to show him what she wanted to do, he made his body explode into several spheres of various dimensions; the globe containing his brain and eyes flew directly into the water.

There, Chaos recomposed his body and swam further down; when he nearly reached the bottom he took time to think. Why the lizard wanted to swallow him? What was the benefit in having a creature that could control water into her body? Surely it would be a suicide since once inside her he could dehydrate her in a matter of a second…

Showing his questions aside he swam near the surface and calculated carefully the distance from his position to the weak spot of the enemy; it was almost twenty feet away, and the fact that she was looking the other way gave him another golden occasion to score a hit.

Before he acted, however, he took some seconds to think; the lizard was now trying to capture him, and jumping out of the water was going to give her a good opportunity to do it. A long range attack was surely the best idea; it would be less powerful, but it was better not going under her physical range.

Chaos reared back his right arm and shot it out of the water as fast and powerful as he could; the hit was successful, and the lizard screamed in pain again. When his arm returned of his normal length he dived down and waited a little; everything here was in his favor, and this time the victory was going to be his.

The BioLizard looked frantically around for her enemy; some seconds later she screamed again. After the pain stopped she let her head hung low, near the surface; there was nothing that she could do to outmatch him there. The environment was greatly in his favor, and the possibility to extend his arm and deliver a good hit on her made him an impossible target.

The lizard raised her neck and looked at the water in front of her; she could see the tiny creature made of water watch her from under the surface. His green eyes were shining in victory as he knew that in that place he was now invincible; also, they were telling her that he wasn't going to stop until the hedgehogs were safe from her.

With a growl of frustration and resignation she decided that for the moment she had to retreat; she was angry because she didn't get the hedgehogs, but at least now she had two emeralds at her disposal. With a snort she teleported away; she knew that he was going to warn them, and that the next time it was going to be harder to get them.

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Rouge yawned and stood up from the chair "Better go see how the kids are doing." She said to the echidna. The bat slowly walked out of the door with him right behind her; she turned her head around and smiled "Thanks for the massage. That really helped."

Knuckles smiled back shyly "It's nothing Rouge. You really needed it." He said following her to the basement.

When the two walked into the new environment, their eyes widened in shock; the table on the center of the room and a copy machine right next to the stairs were the only free thing. There was a long table that was following the walls, and over it there was every sort of gadget; from robot parts savaged from his adventures with Sonic to airplane's pieces.

Attached on the walls, almost one over another, there were several blueprints of inventions; a single bulb of light in the center of the room provided the light to see. Tails was on the opposite corner from the stairs, and Amy was in front of them; both were searching for those infrared cameras.

The echidna cleared his throat and attracted the two's attention; he crossed his arms and looked at the fox in a schooling manner "What's with all this mess?"

The young vulpine smiled embarrassed "I suppose that sometimes I could come down here and straighten the place, but I often forget that I have a basement…" He said fidgeting with his thumbs and index fingers.

Knuckles smiled and chuckled "C'mon Tails, I'm joking!" He uncrossed his arms and walked in front of him "Besides, I'm not your father…"

When the male treasure hunter talked of being a father, Rouge mind elaborated something that really surprised her; what she imagined was how would her and Knuckles' children look like. Her cheeks became red and when he turned his eyes to her she deliberately walked to the opposite table, faking to admire the first blueprint that came under her eyes.

The pink hedgehog watched the scene unfold, and smiled inwardly; some seconds later she walked next to the female treasure hunter and nudged her on the ribs "You should tell him…"

When she felt something poke on her ribs, Rouge nearly jumped on the ceiling; she looked at the girl and smiled, the pink on her cheeks still there "I know… but… I'm scared…"

Amy nodded "I know… I was kinda scared too when I first meet Sonic, but after I told him that I loved him… well… it was all easy."

Rouge's eyes widened in shock and confusion "Wait! He refused you, didn't he? If so, why are you still following him?"

Amy smiled sadly "Well, he refused me, yes. But I love him too much to renounce at him… and I know that deep into his heart there's something for me." She said leaking a single tear from her right eye "I don't know if it's just a deep friendship or something more… that's why I'm still trying and hoping dearly that it's love what he holds for me."

The bat's eyes softened at those words; the young hedgehog was deeply in love with the blue hero, and she would have done anything for him "You know what? You should stop asking him to marry you every time you see him. Sonic is a free spirit, and he would surely die to find himself tied to someone in that way."

She paused and placed a hand on her shoulder as she saw her tear-streaked face "Now, I'm not saying to stop loving him… I'm just saying to give him his space…" She said smiling softly "And when he will understand what he truly feels for you he will tell you… be just a friendship or love."

Rouge then brought the pink hedgehog's ear near her mouth "You should also show him what you are made of and how deep and sincere your feelings for him are. And stop being so girlish and be more mature… that's why he always let you behind. Last thing… drop the whining."

The two females parted and looked at each other "So… how my suggestions sounds?"

Amy smiled widely and nodded her head "Thanks Rouge, that'll help me a lot." She said hugging the treasure hunter "I think that I'll also stop hugging him like I always done. Last time I hugged Shadow believing him to be Sonic, and I was sure that he was going to kill me…"

Both female were abruptly taken back to the real world when Tails yelled happily at the top of his lungs; the two looked at him perplexed, but soon smiled as they saw him and the echidna with two medium boxes containing the cameras.

The four walked up the stairs and into the workshop; the two males put the boxes near a workbench and opened them. Tails quickly looked into them "We have a total of five infrared cameras and three normal ones."

Rouge hummed to herself and took a thinking position "Now what we have to do is to find the better spot where put them…"

A sudden crash coming from outside made the inhabitants of the house jump on the spot; they all ran outside and Rouge chuckled to herself on seeing a red, white and blue hang-glider equipped with an engine on the lower area of the hill.

She walked down the steps and looked for its passenger "Jo, you ok?" She asked seeing that the rider was fighting with the harness.

The human male looked at her and smiled back "I'm ok, I just landed badly thanks to someone that tried to shot me down…" He said waving to the surroundings steep hills.

Rouge eyes widened and frantically helped his friend get out of the flying machine "They're already here!" She exclaimed under her breath.

Upon seeing the angry and distressed face of his friend the man quickly got out of the hang glider and ran after the bat; when they passed the other three he heard her command them to return into the house.

When they were all into the workshop she closed the door and looked at them all "Since we're under GUN eyes I'll make it short. This is my friend Johnson Kaler. John or Jo for friends." Then she turned at him "I think you already know who they are, right?"

The human nodded quickly "So, I suppose you called me because of a really big problem, right?" He asked looking into her aqua eyes.

Rouge sighed and closed her eyes "I'd rather say 'huge problem'…" A pause to take a breath "It's three days that Sonic and Shadow are missing, and on their tails there are five sides." She said holding up her open hand to show him her five fingers.

"The bad guys are the GUN, that wants them for who knows what military purposes. Eggman, that wants them dead so he can conquer the world, _and_ the BioLizard, that has an unknown purpose." She took a deep breath and let it out "We are the only good guys that are after them. Chaos is in here too, but at the moment we don't know why he's after them… we just hope that's he's on our side."

The human nodded in understanding and followed the bat into the computer room with the others "I'm sorry if I sounded rough, but we are really deep in trouble, and we need all the help we can get. Are you on our side?"

John smiled widely and sat on the chair that was little for him "Are you kidding, Rouge? I'm always on your side." A pause to crack his fingers "So, what do you want me to do?"

The female smiled back "Crack into GUN's computers and get what you can. Also, try to find something about Sonic's family… Amy says that on common net there's nothing regarding that topic, and that he doesn't even have a birth certificate."

The man turned around to face the computer "Leave it to me, Rouge! I'm one of the best hacker on this continent." He said confidently. He then turned around to face the group "If the owner of this computer let me use it."

Tails smiled "If it's for Sonic I'll gladly let you do it!"

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Poor Sonic… I made him kinda sick…

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	14. Little Hope, Great Chaos

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**RichaCo:** Ok, with this I'll probably spoil you, but I've momentarily got back that initial inspiration of when I started this. However, don't get used to it…  
I suspect that now you're thrilling over this S-01 guy, eh? What I can say is that I'm almost to him.  
Chaos's fight against the BioLizard will probably have a third part, since they are 1 - 1, but I'm not that sure… I'll see in the future.  
What's gonna happen? I think that a total chaos will insure from now on.  
**PS:** Just for curiosity… have you understood why the BioLizard wants them?

**Chaos Flower:** *Uses chair to parry every hit from the pointy stick* Hey! I'm happy to read you here! Cool story? *Blushes and start to fidget with index fingers* Well… thanks… but to tell the truth I never planned to make it so long and complicated.  
When I started it I planned to go straight to the end without much problems _and_ without Chaos, but thanks to my uncontrollable imagination I ended up with this… also my writing skill really improved over the chapters, so I'm really happy of this work…

**Chibi Yoshi:** *tear streaked face* Thanks! Anyway, do I really capture the characters' personalities that well? And that I thought that I made them always a little out of character…  
What do you mean by 'Shadow seems a bit too casual'?  
Anyway, Shadow sometimes acts a little OOC because there's a valid reason that you'll see in the future chapters.  
I'm happy to see that you like the personality that I gave to Chaos; you see… I started with what little I knew of him, such as wisdom (he's more than two thousands years old), kindness and caring for life (he's the protector of the little chao) and anger over the wrong things (such as the killing of the chao by the echidna populace). Then I though at how he would react at the things in my fic and here we are with this personality (and to think that I initially didn't plan to have him in the fic…).  
For the zones, well… they are not those zones, but I admit that I took great inspiration from them.  
**PS:** Last thing, I'm still waiting for the next chapter of Broken Chaos from that time I got the third chapter… are you continuing that?

**Ok,** now that I finished my long papyrus, here's the new (_and long!_) chapter!

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Little Hope, Great Chaos

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Eggman watched as the two Metals returned from their stroll empty handed; he sighed and motioned for them to follow him "So it's true, then…" He said more to himself than to the mechs "They disappeared…"

The doctor walked back in the control room and sat on the chair in front of the big computer; the two mechs stood still at both his sides. The man typed some keys and the screen cleared from all the open windows 'My grandfather was highly secretive about this CT-project… but why?'

His musing stopped as he saw an image file amongst the others; he opened it and stared in wonder. It was a very old photo with Gerald and his crew in front of two stasis tubes; everyone was smiling and had a glass in hand. They were probably celebrating the success gained with the experiment.

Eggman enlarged the photo and focused on the two tubes behind the group of scientists; they were full of liquid, and in each capsule there was something highly undefined floating in the middle with lots of wires connected to them.

Enlarging more, he widened his eyes in shock; even if the shapes in the picture appeared to be just a slightly dark gray mark than the surrounding liquid, he clearly recognized them both. He knew only two hedgehogs with those quills.

The doctor leaned on his chair and stroke his left moustache 'That can't be Sonic… this photo was taken more than fifty years ago…' He thought looking intently at the shape on the left 'But those quills are unmistakable…'

Then his mind suddenly lit up 'It's clear that the one on the right, labeled S-02, is Shadow. Now, the one on the left must be something that was like him… probably a twin… male or female…' His train of thoughts went on and on until he stared blankly at the photo. In his mind only a solution; Sonic was linked to all this in some way.

Deciding to investigate further into the whole thing, he started searching everything that was saved from the destruction caused by GUN; two hours later he came up with only two files from their databases. One was some records over the ULF-Project, the other was an energy report over the so-called S-01 under battle.

The man opened the first file and when he was done his brain had understood everything; the S-01 was looking like Sonic because the blue hedgehog was his direct descendant. Somehow he managed to survive the explosion and have a family; at that the man raised an eyebrow 'Strange… I never saw or heard of his family…'

Everything was now clear, minus one thing; the projects' names. It was like someone hastily renamed them all without caring about the connections between them 'It's obvious that my grandfather renamed them all, but why? Why would he do that?'

The doctor massaged his temples "Argh! It doesn't make any sense!" He said out loud. He had to admit it; his grandfather had been a great genius, but he was also someone that made the others wonder at what was passing into his brain…

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He had passed more than a half a hour over the decision of what to do, and in the end he chose to let the bandages where they were; now he was slowly making his way into a corridor faintly illuminated by bowls full of lava near the floor. The hot liquid was quickly flowing in them trough a hole in the wall, meaning that there was a continuous replacement so that the matter wouldn't cool off and became solid earth.

Shadow stopped as he reached a doorway; he looked onwards and sighed as the path was going down and left. On either side of the descending corridor there was a little river of lava less than a foot wide that illuminated the environment "Another descending corkscrew…" He muttered flatly. By now he was too tired even to complain about something.

The black hedgehog looked down at the hedgehog in his arms and closed his eyes; he had to continue, at least for Sonic's sake. Reopening them he stepped down the little step and started following the path 'I just hope that it's without traps…'

Just like he hoped, he reached the end of the path without problems, but what he saw made him a little angry; in front of him stood another doorway, and after that another descending corkscrew. Shadow took a deep breath of hot air and started walking "I just hope that this is not going to go on forever…"

After another hour of descent the black hedgehog finally reached the end, and growled frustrated; in front of him, once again, another doorway and successive corkscrew path. Unlike the previous time, however, this middle landing had a rectangular window on its right wall; curiously, Shadow walked over it and looked 'out'.

What he saw made him stare in wonder and with mouth hanging open; he was looking into a fifty, maybe sixty yards high cavern filled with huge crystals. The cave was a mile wide and almost two long, and the ceiling was supported by several huge naturals rock pillars; the crystals were everywhere, even on the roof. On the other side of the cavern there was something that looked like a little altar.

Someone chuckled, taking away his stupor "I see… that you saw something really amazing…"

Shadow looked down and hinted a smile "Well… if you saw what I saw you would have my same reaction." He said keeping his voice low, so the blue hedgehog's nasty headache wouldn't worsen.

Sonic barely opened his eyes and stared up at his double "Then let me see it…" A pause "Or you are too worried to let me up?"

The black hedgehog sighed and suppressed a little laugh; even if Sonic was half-dead he still had the energy to joke. He shook his head and slowly put the other hedgehog on the ground, keeping him upright by putting his right arm over his own neck and placing his left hand around the other's waist.

The ill hedgehog slowly looked out of the window and his vacant eyes opened a little more "Wow." He managed to mutter in his faint voice "Amazing place. Indeed."

Shadow looked at him and almost bit his lower lip; that condition made Sonic lose his adventurous spirit "C'mon Sonic… we better get going and get out of this place before you die in my arms…"

The blue one smiled and stopped Shadow's attempt of picking him up "First of all, I'm not going to die here. Second, let me walk for a little. If you sense any danger you can pick me up, ok?"

The ebony hedgehog looked out of the window "I'm not sure of it, Sonic. Your legs are badly damaged…" He turned around and faced him "It's a wonder that you're able to stand up, and not scream in pain… those must hurt like hell…"

Sonic closed his eyes and sighed "The only thing that I can feel now, Shadow, is my pounding headache that it's starting to unnaturally subside. It's there, but the more time pass the more my conscience slips making the pain slowly go away… the rest is just a vague sensation…" He paused and took a breath "I'm scared, Shadow… Are my legs that bad? Will I be able to run again?"

Shadow suppressed a murmur and looked down at the other's legs; they were badly damaged and a normal being would be probably crippled forever; but Sonic was different. He was his brother's legacy, and he would surely get through it without problems. He looked back up and reassured him with a smile "Whatever it is, Sonic, I'm sure you'll make it through."

The blue hero smiled back and started walking with him towards the doorway; every step he took brought him a terrible pain, but it was barely noticed by his brain, which was into a worse condition.

The descent was shorter than the previous ones, but it was greatly slowed down by the blue hedgehog's pace; even if he had improved a little with the walk, he was still slow and matched a relaxed walk. Sonic looked up from the ground "Sorry… if I'm a burden… to you. Without me you would be already out of here…"

Shadow shook his head "No, Sonic! Don't even say it! You're not a burden! And if you were I'll be very happy to carry it."

After that the two hedgehogs never spoke again for almost half an hour, until Sonic slowly whipped away some sweat from his brow "It's me or the air is getting hotter?"

The black hedgehog stopped to take a breath "Uh-uh… Maybe we reached the center of the Earth… with all this descending… I wouldn't be surprised… to see just an ocean of molten rock…"

Sonic hummed for some seconds "I can imagine it…" He raised his left hand and moved it from right to left "'Special report: Two hedgehogs reached the center of our planet and made it back to tell!'" He paused a little and looked at the black one "We'll be on the news for days! We'll be famous, Shadow!" He brought his left index finger on his chin and tilted his head a little to the left "That's it if we leave out the fact that we're both already famous…" He concluded in a thoughtful tone of voice.

The black hedgehog stared for a seconds, then he started chuckling quietly; he really liked that side of him… so happy-go-lucky even with a splitting headache; typical of him. He took a deep breath and calmed down "C'mon, Sonic… lets go."

It took them another hour to get to the bottom, and to Shadow's relief it was really the end; the black hedgehog looked around. They were in the crystal field at the bottom of the cavern, and it was _hot_; the black hedgehog took a deep breath and coughed.

Sonic's eyes wandered to a piece of crystal near him; it was transparent with a clear orange tint in it, and it was two feet higher than an average human was. He raised his left hand to touch it, but as he neared it he quickly retracted his limb "Shadow, we better stay away from these crystals, or they are going to burn us to crisps…"

The black hedgehog looked at the crystal at his right; it was a deadly beauty. Mumbling something under his breath he looked forwards; there was a path amongst the crystals, and it became two after twenty feet "Sonic… I fear that we ended into a maze…"

The blue hedgehog looked at the path and tiredly hummed annoyed "So be it… we shall take the last challenge… and we will survive!"

Shadow looked at him, then back at the path with decision "Yes, we shall not fall here!"

The two walked to the fork and looked left and right; one was the right way, the other was a blind alley. Shadow looked at the blue hedgehog and asked him with his eyes for help; Sonic glanced again at the two paths, then pointed the right one "That one."

Shadow walked right, supporting the other as best as he could in the terrible heat "Sonic, how do you know that this is the right path?"

Sonic shrugged helplessly "I'm just guessing… basing myself on my sixth sense… that right now is working really badly…"

The ebony one hummed nodding "Don't worry. I trust you in taking us out of there…" He said as another thing popped in his head 'Sonic has the ability to feel the way, I the danger… I wonder… were we created to be one in two bodies?'

'Sonic inherited every ability of my brother. Without him I would have never found my way out of the labs, and without me he would have surely fell into a trap…' He looked up at his companion that was trying to choose between three paths; one straight, one left and the other right 'Again, I wonder why we were brought to life with these powers… was it just for Maria's sake?'

Sonic chose the left path and the two started slowly walking that way; the heat was starting to get to them, and they were almost to the limits. Several choices later they reached what seemed to be the center of the maze; the heat there was more intense.

The blue one quickly looked at the six new paths all around them in deep confusion; he was starting to lose consciousness again, but this time he would hardly wake up again… he just knew it. Swallowing what little saliva he had in his mouth he concentrated; he knew that the right one was one of the three at his right… but which one?

Sensing his confusion, Shadow looked at him, then he followed his vacant eyes and looked the three paths on the right; he walked in front of them "Take a rest, Sonic. You need it."

Sonic looked at him with almost closed eyes "Do… you know the way?" He asked barely audible. When he saw the other hedgehog nod he smiled and slowly drifted into an uneasy unconsciousness.

Shadow picked him up and looked back at the paths 'Maybe, maybe not, Sonic. But maybe my own sixth sense can help me…'

He slowly walked back and forth in front of them, then he stopped on the left one; that was the one that didn't gave him that bad sensation in the back of his mind, so he guessed that it was the right one. After a quick glance that confirmed his idea, he walked into the chosen path and followed it, until he arrived at another cross; this time, however, the paths were only three.

Another half an hour later he finally reached the middle of the second part of the maze; that lifted a little of his hope, but not by much. His pace was slow as a turtle and he barely managed to stay on his feet. His mouth was dry as a desert and his mind was starting to don't understand anything anymore; Sonic was probably in his same condition, or maybe in a worse one since he wasn't moving anymore in his sleep. His chest barely moved up and down and he was sweating profusely, like him.

Shadow stopped for a second; part of his mind was telling him to just give up and die there, another was screaming to him to continue struggling to the end, and maybe even further if needed. Taking his most important decision in his life, he started walking and choosing again; he had to go on. Sonic trusted him with his life.

Long minutes passed, and after countless turnings he finally found himself in front of the same altar that he saw from the window. It was a pagoda with only four little columns that reminded him of the fall of lava in that trap; the roof was adorned with several orange colored hooks.

Under the pagoda there was another statue of Lauren, but this one was sitting cross-legged and his hands were positioned in a bowl manner; probably this statue was holding the precious emerald in its hands. Unluckily the gem was not there.

The black hedgehog sighed deeply and looked around; he felt his heart drop dangerously. There was no exit, and that vanquished what little hope he had left; he slowly made his way under the statue and put Sonic on the ground. He sat next to him and watched his unmoving body for a second, then he stared at the field of crystals; they would die soon if he couldn't find that secret exit…

His eyes snapped open as he realized that he had forgotten about the hidden exit; he shakily stood up and looked around. Besides the path from where they had came from there were just crystals; he also examined the statue, but he couldn't find that exit or a hidden switch.

Sitting back down he slowly leaned on his back and stared up at the statue; its posture made him forget the heat of the place and he slowly started drifting into sleep. When he thought that he would finally fall asleep and die, he saw Lauren's long tail that, unlike the rest of his body that was collected, was pointing his right.

Shadow sat back up and slowly rubbed the sleep from his eyes; glancing at Sonic he saw that he was slowly coming too. After some minutes he was awake and was intently looking at him "Where… where are we?" He asked in his whispering voice.

The black hedgehog smiled and crawled next to him to help him sat up "We are at the end. What we have to do now is to get out of here through the hidden exit."

Sonic smiled "I knew that you would make it through the rest of the maze." A pause to raise his left hand "C'mon. It's time to get out of here!"

The ebony one nodded and helped his double on his feet; when they were standing they both waved dangerously on the spot. Shadow walked in front of the point pointed by the tail and started examining the spot.

At the moment there was nothing particular, until Sonic slowly reached a crystal; he touched it and smiled "These crystals are not hot… we can make our way through them."

The black hedgehog observed the crystals; there was enough space to let a human carefully navigate amongst them, the only downside of it was that they looked extremely sharp. Not having other choices he slowly started making his way, being very careful to not send the other hedgehog into one of them.

It took them half a hour and several light cuts to get to the other side, and during that time the heat made its work; the two were barely able to move or even breath, but being their stubborn self they continued pushing. Shadow slowly walked in the new area with Sonic in tow and raised an eyebrow confused.

It was an empty circular area minus the big and circular stone cover in the middle of it; over them there was a ceiling made of entangled crystals, that gave the area a more hot air. That was why he didn't saw it from that window.

Both hedgehogs slowly made their way over the stone and stared down; it was covered in that same language from the temple, and it seemed some sort of warning. Since the blue hedgehog was too out to manage to understand it, Shadow started reading it out loud.

"Whoever you are, I give you my most sincere congratulations for reaching the end of the trial. However, you are not done yet. The one who dwells in the earth is hungry, and will never stop unless you kill him… or he kills you. Good luck, and may your quest be blessed. That is… if it is for a good cause."

Shadow looked under the inscription and noticed a single word "Lauren" He muttered.

Not wanting to deal with religious believes, he started looking for a clue on how to make that thing work; he slowly placed the almost unconscious Sonic on the center of it and walked around in the circle. Nothing was looking suspicious and he was starting to have a headache too; in his little stroll he passed near the blue hedgehog, that stopped him by grabbing his leg.

The black hedgehog kneeled down and raised an eyebrow as the other strongly grabbed his left wrist "Whatever happens, Shadow, don't let my arm go…"

Shadow tilted his head to the side; was Sonic delirious after all what he had passed? The answer came when he opened his eyes; they were still vacant, but they had something unexplainable in them "Don't let me go…"

The ebony one nodded and gripped back his wrist; then, everything started to melt away. It was very different from the Chaos Control, but for some strange reason it reminded him of that; the world melted and it quickly became a swirling mass of brilliants colors. He gripped better the other hedgehog's wrist as an unseen force was forcefully pulling them apart.

Like it had started, it stopped, and it left the two confused hedgehogs laying in a new environment; the air was cold against their burning skins, but they greatly enjoyed it. They both let time and coldness restore a little of their energies; and meanwhile they waited, they listened to the steady plic-plic that almost lulled them to sleep.

Shadow was the first to recover, and when he managed to sit up he exhaled a deep breath and looked at the new surroundings; the new cavern was as big as the previous, but unlike that, this was not dangerous.

There was no need for a torch as the entire ambient was light up with a soft azure light; it was enough bright to let see even the farthest end of the cave. The rocks, which gave off that soft light, were of a color that was between blue and green; sometimes there were peaks of brown covered by a green substance. Algas, maybe.

Six huge columns, the final product of the union of a stalactite and a stalagmite, were adorning the center of the cave; a rocky path, supported by natural pillars, was going from end to end in a twisting way.

On the roof there were several stalactites that were slowly dripping water; every drop that hit the respective stalagmite, or a puddle of water, gave off that steady plic-plic. At the bottom of the cavern, at least seven hundreds feet down, there was a lake of crystal clear water that covered the entire surface of said environment.

The sudden relaxing moment was ruined by something huge that came crashing down from above; Shadow looked at it stunned. It was ten feet tall and almost twenty long; originally it must had been a statue, but when it started moving every junction broke and now the parts were held together by pure Chaos Energy.

The statue was a massive dragon with a very short, but thick neck; it didn't possessed wings and the head had a terrifying mouth with thick teeth. They alone couldn't cut, but if used with great strength they could tear someone apart rather easily. On it hands and feet there were ruined sharp talons that could still cause heavy damage and at the end of the tail a heavy looking mace; the curious thing was that its whole appearance was damaged, like it had been into a fight.

Shadow fell on his back and he stared in the stone eyes of the rock beast; the thing was slowly, but surely draining him of his last energies, and probably even Sonic was suffering from the same thing. The sensation was utterly horrible and so painful that took his breath away; it was like as if his own soul was being ripped away from his body.

He helplessly watched as the statue raised a clawed hand over him and the blue hedgehog and closed his eyes; the only thing that he could do was to grit his teeth and wait for the inevitable death.

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Chaos jumped out of the water and walked in front of the hidden doorway; not knowing what to do, he just stared at it waiting patiently and hoping strongly for them to arrive.

When the evening almost came, he heard some voices talk a little away from his position; curiously, he slowly walked near the source and spied. They were a group of ten humans and five robots equipped with long guns; the men also had a smaller one that was in a holder on their waist. It seemed to be equipped with a single dart.

The water creature narrowed its eyes and silently backed away; the humans that wanted the two hedgehogs were there. He didn't wanted to give away the fact that he was there too, but he needed to get the zone cleared from the humans. He slowly descended into water and went under; he could use the advantage of the place to cause some 'incidents'.

Chaos made his way to the underwater wall that was supporting the land where the robots stood and started taking away the bricks; as soon as there was a big enough hole in it, the raised piece of building started to shake. Soon after the wall crumpled upon itself and fell into the water, taking the robots with itself; the humans, who were on another piece of raised land, screamed warnings over the danger of the place.

The creature stopped under them and watched as one man took out a little black thing from a holster on his waist "To all units on the water ruins. Be careful, the zone is extremely unstable."

Chaos tilted his head a little to the side as the little thing confirmed with several different voices; hearing the human, his little party was not the only one that was there. He narrowed his eyes and started to take away the bricks from the building under the men's feet; after he took care of those, he had to swim around and find the others.

The piece of land started shaking and fell like the previous; the humans fell into the water and Chaos carefully made them lose their equipment by melting into the azure liquid. As soon as he saw the guns hit the bottom, he swam away in search of the others parties; he had to do it quickly, or the humans would surely find the hedgehogs when they came out of the tunnel. Providing that the hedgehogs were really in there…

Soon he found the second group of ten humans and three robots, but this time the mechs were a flying type; he looked around from underwater and spied a column. It was holding up a wall big enough to take out all three robots simultaneously; he swam behind it and started pushing.

The column rumbled submissively as it started moving towards them drawing an arc; finally the base of the column gave away and the piece of marble started falling down. The robots only had the time to register the fact that a wall was falling on them before it destroyed them all; the humans backed away as the three mechs exploded one after another.

The rigmarole went on and on, and Chaos was done only when it was almost deep night; he looked up at the broken moon that was right over his head and let his body drift in the water. Now that the humans were all out of commission, he could patiently wait for them to pop up; he calmly swam to the exit and walked out of the liquid.

He stared intently and remembered what he heard of the trial; it was entirely based on lava, and it could dehydrate someone quickly. Luckily at the end there was a fresh cavern with water at the bottom, so that someone that managed to surpass the trial could rest and restore his energies.

Suddenly his eyes widened as another memory abruptly popped in his mind; at the end of the path, right in the last cavern, dwelled a rocky statue that was wowed to kill everyone that passed from there. It lived on Chaos Energy like him, but unlike him that beast was unaware of itself; probably because it was brought to life with a Chaos Emerald instead with the Master one.

That statue could also drain Chaos Energy from its surroundings and from a living being since everything had a little of the mystic energy in it; even if the drainage didn't kill, it was enough to exhaust someone, and make one already tired from the path unable to move. Afterwards the only thing that the statue needed to do was to raise a limb and crush the unlucky one.

Not wanting the hedgehogs dead, he ran into the entrance and followed the path until he arrived into the huge azure cavern that signed the end of the path; his eyes narrowed as he tried to make out what was happening on the other end of the suspended pathway. As he ran onwards, he saw a gray dot plummet down from somewhere on the ceiling; at that he narrowed his eyes and ran faster.

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Rouge and Tails managed to have the cameras up and running by midday; the two monitors in the computer room were displaying all the eight view with a good clarity.

Knuckles passed the entire morning on the roof looking for incoming assaults and sometimes he would glance at the occupied bat that was running all over the place with the young fox right behind her.

Amy was in the computer room watching Jo works and filling him in of all what happened; sometimes she also would ask him about what he was doing or what he had found, and he would clearly explain to her.

Early evening came in a matter of seconds, and all the inhabitants of the house were now grouped in the little computer room; Jo was in front of the machine, Amy was sitting at his left, in front of the two monitors, Tails was standing at his left and the two treasure hunters were behind them.

Rouge looked at the screen "Found something?"

The human looked briefly at her, then went back facing the screen "I found… I found…" He paused and hummed to himself a little "But I also found something rather intriguing…"

He opened an image file and enlarged the area behind the scientists "Look at this," He started pointing the two tubes "This is the origin of Project Shadow, but the actual name was ULF-Project. Whatever happened, it obliged Gerald to divide all the subjects and change their names. The one on the left is Shadow's exact twin brother… the DNA of one is the perfect copy of the other."

Tails looked at the screen and took several seconds to think "Could be that explosion where Shadow's brother disappeared the reason that made Prof. Gerald change all the names?"

John shrugged helplessly "Maybe, nobody knows what really happened on ARK until GUN shut it down… the one that knows the most is Alan Decò, head of this military organization."

Amy placed a hand on his left arm and attracted his attention "Have you found why they want them so badly?"

The man nodded and brought a text file on the screen "According to this text file, signed by the head scientist, they want them for…" He paused unsure of what to say. As everyone gave him a pleading look he sighed and flopped on the little chair "They want them so they can create their own army of super powered hedgehogs using the Chaos Emeralds…"

Everyone stared blankly at him mouthing or thinking something; Knuckles was the first to recover from the shock "So they knows that the two of them are related, and want them so they can discover why they are so powerful?"

John nodded slowly "If they manage to extrapolate that unknown secret from their bodies they can successfully create clones that will be trained mercilessly to execute all the orders of the general… without opposing." He paused and turned to face them all "Think of it… Hundreds of hedgehogs with the same abilities of Sonic and Shadow… not even all the armies of the world put together could stop them…"

Tails looked down and sighed discouraged; another crazy human that wanted to control the world. This time, however, the human had no scruples… at least Eggman never went that low and create clones of his worst enemy…

Amy turned around and her eyes fell on the two monitors displaying the eight views from the house; she gasped audibly as she saw what the cameras were picking up "Guys…" She said standing up "They are coming in full forces!"

All the presents looked at the screens and gasped lightly; A squadron of Blue Eagles was coming from the sea, two of Laser Hunters, two of Shield Hunter and one of Gun Hawk were slowly descending from the steep hills and three of humans were slowly walking from the meadow.

The echidna cracked his knuckles and grinned showing his teeth "C'mon, guys! Lets show them that Sonic and Shadow are not the only powerful and dangerous ones!"

There was a collective yeah that came from all the presents; they were not going to give up that easily. Once again the future of the planet was relying on them, not to mention the one of their two friends…

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Gha gha gha! Cliffhanger on every front! I'd like to know what my mind has in store for the next one…  
Oh, well… I have to wait till I start writing… **Until next!**

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	15. Fight And Defend!

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Authoress' Note:** I excuse myself if the battle with GUN could seem a little 'lame', but I'm lacking of 'battle inspiration'.

**Dragon Master Naya (x2):** Like I said, I was just curious… I live (like everyone by now knows…) in north Italy… Veneto, to be precise…  
_"*twich**twich*"_? What's that? Are… are you angry? Did I write something wrong? Are you mad with me? Please… don't! I'll get really sad if I did… soooooooooorryyyyyyyyyyyyyy

**Chaos Flower:** Since I am the Authoress, yes I can (bad influences from Za…). *Pats her on the head and gives her a kleenex* But don't worry! Here's the next chapter!  
As for that rumor you say… well… it'll be cleared out a little in this chapter by Chaos, and definitively explained in the future (I think). Enjoy!

**Chibi Yoshi:** Yes, I made Shadow a bit too casual in the first chapters, but that's on the old version. The new one (first three chapters, the forth is coming) he's more IC (I dearly hope). Yes, I noticed it too… I really improved with writing, and I'm damn grateful for that.  
For **Broken Chaos**; GUYS! Go and read it! It really deserves! **I command you all! GO AND READ IT!**

**RichaCo:** The first question will be answered in this chapter, but for the fluff between Knuckles and Rouge I fear that you have to wait better times (for them, since they are now under attack).  
_"Goddess of writing"_? *Speechless and open mouthed* … … [five minutes later…] … … Man! Did I really impress you so much with my writing skill and plot? You nearly made me have a heart attack for the shock!

**Firehedgehog:** I'm just happy knowing that you read them all, so it doesn't matter if you don't have time to review every chapter.

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Fight And Defend!

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Eggman walked back and forth in the control room with his hands behind his back 'Ok, recapitulating everything, Shadow was originally brought to life, along with his twin, in the project denominated 'ULF'. After that his twin 'died' in an explosion, my grandfather had to change the names.'

He walked in front of the screen and sat back on the chair 'The original project was cancelled and it was renamed CT-Project. Shadow was moved to another project, Project Shadow, with the clear intention to search for a cure for Maria's illness.'

'The BioLizard was the prototype of the original ULF-Project, and after the incident, it was transferred to being the prototype of Project Shadow.'

The doctor sighed heavily and passed a hand over his head 'Everything was messed up to protect something, but what?' He leaned back on the chair and just stared at the screen 'I don't think that he was trying to protect Shadow's twin brother that everyone believed dead…'

Eggman looked up at the ceiling 'It's sure that he wanted to erase everything about the other half of the initial project… like if he wanted to cancel him from history and from everyone's mind…' His eyes widened and he sat up properly, looking back at the screen 'Wait! Isn't Shadow suffering of partial amnesia?'

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Chaos ran as fast as he could, and when he reached them he saw the two hedgehogs on the ground; the statue was over them with a raised foreleg. He reared back his right arm and when he was right next to the rock beast he released the blow with all his strength; his fist collided with its right side and the power of the hit sent the statue stumble on the ground some feet away.

When Shadow felt air rush over his body, he opened his eyes by a crack and managed to see an azure creature stand where the statue used to be. It seemed to be composed by water, and kept in that way by Chaos Energy; but differently than the statue, this creature was intelligent.

Chaos briefly crossed his gaze with the black hedgehog, then he resumed staring at the stone statue, which was slowly returning on its feet; a rocky growl later the fake dragon turned around and charged the water beast. Every step it took, it would cause a minor earthquake; as soon as the mindless creature was at his reach, Chaos whirled around and backslapped it on its right 'cheek'.

The statue was stopped abruptly and its head went to the left; a second later, it returned its dead eyes on its adversary and tried to bite him. Chaos dodged by taking a quick step backwards, then he punched the statue on the nose; the beast was flung a little backwards and shook its heat. Little pieces of rock flew left and right.

Meanwhile the statue was being occupied by the water creature, Shadow managed to roll on his left side and face the blue hedgehog. Sonic was laying motionless on his back and his body was in the same conditions as his "Sonic?" He weakly called for him.

When no response came, he placed his right hand on the hero's chest; the pain from his arm and wrist was barely noticed by the distraught hedgehog, who was already having great difficulty breathing. His eyes started releasing tears as he felt that Sonic was barely alive; his heart was beating so slowly and faintly that he hardly noticed it. His breathing was matching it.

Shadow shook the other hedgehog in a vain attempt to wake him up 'No… wake up… please Sonic… wake up…'

Chaos delivered another blow at the statue and sent it against the back wall with its rear; the strength of the blow gave him some seconds to recollect his ideas. As he did so, his eyes widened as he felt the emotional pain of the black hedgehog; he turned his head around and immediately rushed to their side.

The water creature hastily, but carefully, took away Shadow's hand from the other's chest and placed his own instead; he could barely feel his heartbeat. He looked back at the statue and dangerously narrowed his eyes; he had to destroy that statue soon or he would lose the blue hedgehog, and the black one would follow him soon.

In a part of his mind, however, he wondered why they where affected by the drain more than anyone else; normal beings would survive even without Chaos Energy, but the two hedgehogs were clearly dying from the continual drain. He shook his head a little and returned into focusing on the fake creature that was once again standing on its feet.

Chaos fisted his hands and walked towards it, examining every part of it. There was no apparent weak point, and that made the fight harder than it needed to be; and the fact that the thing was draining Chaos Energy from everywhere, included him, gave it a great advantage.

The stone beast turned around and raised its tail; a second later it brought it down with a tremendous force. Chaos barely avoided it and briefly glanced at the huge hole that the impact had made; a blow from that statue and he would surely be flung away from the battlefield.

Sensing that the water creature was once again occupying the statue, Shadow replaced his hand on the blue hedgehog's chest; there was still pulse, but something on the back of his mind was telling him that it wouldn't last much longer.

He closed his eyes and just lay there, listening to the raging battle and feeling Sonic's heart; also, he could feel that he was slipping too, and he couldn't do anything to prevent it. Just hope that the water creature, which was on their side, would quickly win the battle.

Chaos stopped his walk and looked at the beast's head; there was no external weak point, but what about an internal one? The statue needed a focus point to keep all the energy it drained and to keep its body together. For him it was his brain, but for the statue what it would be? But above all, where it would be located? In its head like him?

The water creature took some steps backward to avoid a barrage of swings by its hands and spent a second to think about how to discover that point. He couldn't go randomly since he hadn't enough time to try every spot; maybe if he concentrated on the flow of Chaos Energy he could understand where it was.

Narrowing his eyes for a fraction, Chaos jumped back and started feeling the surrounding Chaos Energy; he could feel his own and the little leftover of the hedgehogs being drained to the statue, and into a particular spot on its upper torso.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the water creature ran forwards and to its right side; he reared again his right arm and delivered the blow. This time, however, the hit wasn't delivered by a fist, but by his hand kept like a spear; he jumped back and observed the damage he had done. If he kept it up, he could dig into its rocky torso and take away the 'brain'; once separated, the body would lifelessly fall apart.

This beast, however, was a little harder to fight than that big lizard since it was just moving rock; the lack of real life gave it the ability to not feel any pain. That saying was true… or you kill it, or it kills you.

Chaos ducked and avoided a swing of the tail, which hit only air; as he felt the tail go back to its place, he stood up again ad delivered another drilling blow. Huge cracks appeared and spread from the hole making their sounds resound in the cave.

The water beast step back again as the statue tried another swung with its tail; thinking again about it, this thing was easier than the lizard… she was intelligent… this one no.

After that the tail returned again to its place, Chaos stepped forwards again and delivered another blow; his arm went into the body of the statue and his hand touched something that was not rock. He gripped it and took it away from the statue; after it was outside, all the pieces of the stone dragon fell apart and rolled lifelessly on the ground.

Chaos looked down at what he was clutching; it was an oval, shining-yellow crystal two inches long, and it was still draining energy. Thinking quickly he reared back his arm and threw the little thing on the nearest pillar; at the impact, the crystal exploded, almost destroying completely the huge natural column.

The water creature's eyes widened in shock as the entire cavern started shaking heavily; he ran to the two hedgehogs and picked them up in his arms. Not caring at how badly he picked them up, he started running for the exit.

After some long seconds of run he finally came to the entrance of the tunnel that would bring them back to open space; he entered into it and didn't slowed down until he saw that the natural walls became filled with well placed bricks.

Not knowing if the humans were still there, he slowly and silently made his way to the last doorway and pecked outside; his eyes narrowed and he mentally growled as he saw an unnatural cone of light walk back and fort right in the piece of land where the exit was situated. They were damn persistent in their task; they were still there even if the robots were all destroyed.

He walked a little backwards and carefully placed both hedgehogs on the ground; he examined their energy condition and felt a little relieved. Even if they were still almost without it, they were still alive; unluckily, the Chaos Energy remained in them was slowly being consumed for healing, and that wasn't good since they were too weak to collect other energy from the surroundings.

The only thing that could save them was a Chaos Emerald, which was a direct font of the mystic energy.

The only problem was to find one…

Chaos looked back at the doorway and pondered what to do; he could rush out with hedgehogs in hand and push the human into the water. If he was quick enough, maybe the one holding the artificial light would not see him.

Thinking again, maybe it was better to go stealthily and avoid them all; if one of them was pushed into water he would surely warn the other that there was something strange in the ruins. Luckily it was deep nighttime, and he would have a great time avoiding them all.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He was back on ARK, in front of the same window where he talked for the last time with Maria; only this time there was no one at his side. Thinking about it, nobody was there, and there was an absolute silence in the place that sometimes would give the shudders.

Shadow walked in front of the glass and placed his hands on the transparent surface; on the other side, many, many miles away, there was the planet known as Earth.

A sudden sensation made him turn around, towards the door; a short childish laugh later he saw a little shape quickly ran past the opening. The black hedgehog walked outside and started in the direction that it had gone; the environment was slightly dark, and after twenty feet everything became just darkness "Shadow?"

Shadow turned around as he heard the young voice call his name from his back; however, when he faced the new direction, no one was there "Shadow!" The same voice exclaimed again from behind him.

He turned around again and stared at the shape that for some strange reason was barely visible; it was just on the brim of the confine between slightly dark and complete darkness.

"Shadow…" It repeated again.

The black hedgehog took a step onwards "You're… you're my brother… right?"

Silence greeted him and when he walked towards the shape, he bitterly discovered that it always kept the same distance "Why can't I remember you?"

The shape disappeared into the darkness behind it, and it left the black hedgehog alone "No! Wait! Don't go!"  
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Who am I?" He asked to himself for the hundredth time "Where am I?"

Sonic was sitting into a black and cold void, clutching his knees to keep himself warm; his head was buried into the space that his torso and legs produced "Anybody here?"

When he received no response, he felt a lump in his throat and his eyes started watering "Don't leave me alone…" He whispered watching his breath form a white trail of condense "Please…" He fell on his side and curled more "Please… somebody…"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Knuckles stood in front of everyone "Tails, since you're the only pilot here, you have to take the airborne ones alone. Up to it?"

"Count them already down, Knuckles!" The fox exclaimed running out of the door and to the underground hangar, where the Tornado II was parked.

The echidna followed him with his eyes, and when he saw that he was out of sight, he returned them to the others "Rouge and I, instead, will take the ones on the ground."

Amy stood up with the clear intention of protesting the echidna's decision of leaving her out of the fight; she opened her mouth to start talking, but never got the chance as Knuckles turned to her with a serious look on his face "You, Amy, will stay here and be our last line of defense. It is really important that the folder in our posses doesn't fall in their hands. Even if we have a copy."

There was a sudden mechanical roar that came from outside; the four looked at the ceiling and wished the fox a silent good luck. Knuckles lowered his head and looked at the bat "C'mon, Rouge."

The female treasure hunter looked at him in the eyes and nodded one; a second later they ran outside and into the battle.

Amy sighed a little disappointed; she wanted to go out there and show everyone that she was strong too, that she could take care of herself. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality; she turned her head around and smiled a little at John.

He smiled back "Amy," He started taking away his hand from her shoulder "The last line of defense is a really important task. If one robot, or agent, pass Knuckles and Rouge's line of defense and get here, the only one that can stop it it's you, because they can't leave their place."

The pink hedgehog sighed and looked to the door "Yes, but I really wanted to help them in the front line… you have seen how many opponents they have to face…"

The human nodded in agreement "I know that, but I'm sure that they can take them all without much problems, or they would have called you with them and let me here at your place."

Amy faced him and sighed "Maybe you're right… however I can't stop being preoccupied for them."

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Tails was flying with his special biplane right into the enemy's line; he narrowed his eyes and pushed a button in the console in front of him. The Tornado II's propellers stopped spinning and retracted into the frontal part of the vehicle; the wings twisted and moved, assuming an X position. After a second of glide, a rocket engine sprouted from under the Tornado's belly, activating immediately.

The fox's eyes narrowed with decision "Never… you _will_ never win this battle!"

The Tornado flew right into the Blue Eagles' formation shooting with its machine gun, making them all spread in every direction. The fox made the plane turn to the left in pursuit of one of the fighter planes; he followed it down near the water surface and resumed shooting. After some bullets gone wasted, one of them hit its target, which fell miserably into the water.

Tails returned up into the sky and looked at the little radar that he had recently installed in his beloved plane; there were still eight dots, and every one of them was dangerously pointing him.

The vulpine made the plane go up vertically, and narrowly missed a missile meant for him; the weapon, instead of hitting its original target, went right into another Blue Eagle, sending it into flaming pieces.

Tails sighed relieved as he discovered that his plane was more agile than the others; after that the little shock left his mind, he smiled. This was going to be an easier fight than the two that occurred around the Egg Carrier; it was apparent that the humans that built the fighters weren't experienced enough to make them Tornado-proof.

The fox leveled his plane and turned slightly to the left; he took carefully his aim and after a second of lock-on, he shot. The target was hit in the tail and lost its balance, falling directly against the rocky wall that was near his workshop; at the impact, it exploded into pieces. Three down, six to go.

Seeing that he was again under lock-on, Tails made its plane go down near the water; he was so close that the lower wings skimmed the calm surface of the sea, leaving two trails after his passage. The missile was fired, and when it was near him, the fox sharply turned upward; the weapon didn't have the space to make a turn and exploded into the water, creating a big column of the same liquid.

The vulpine saw an enemy fly past in front of him, and followed it; he locked on and fired an energy missile. The dangerous bullet shot onwards, and after a couple of seconds of pursuit, it hit its target dead square; the Blue Eagle exploded in mid air, and the pieces fell down into the sea.

Another blip from his radar told Tails that the last five enemy fighters were pursuing him; the fox looked around for a way to escape, and saw the pillar that was keeping up the runway of his workshop. Maybe, just maybe he could trick the IA planes into smashing themselves on one of the surroundings rocks that were jutting out of the water.

After a deep breath to raise his courage, the fox went down and circled the pillar, narrowly missing it on purpose; a quick glance at his radar told him that one of them found its end on the rock surface.

With his adrenaline at the max, Tails pointed the Tornado towards two rocks; the passage was wide enough to let his plane pass. The Blue Eagles at his tail shoot upwards to avid the obstacles, but two of them hit each other with their wings, destroying them; soon after, the damaged planes hit each other and created an explosion that illuminated the dark liquid beneath them.

The last two Blue Eagles returned on their pursuit, and more than one time tried to hit the Tornado with their machines guns; luckily the fox always avoided the oncoming bullets.

Tails quickly thought hard, and his ingenious brain came up with an unusual solution; he flew upwards and let the two enemies follow him. When they were all leveled with the sea surface, he pressed the special button on his console and reverted back to normal mode.

The two Blue Eagles surpassed him, and Tails made the Tornado turn back to the special mode; now that he was at their backs, the fox fired. The continual shooting firstly hit the one on the right, which went down into the water, then the other, which simply exploded in the air.

Having completed his part of the battle, Tails reverted the plane to normal mode, and turned it around for the landing; unluckily, a shot from the ground hit the tail, making the vehicle almost uncontrollable. However, being the expert on flight that he was, the fox managed to emergency land on his runway without ruining the Tornado.

The vulpine quickly freed himself from the belts and jumped out of the flying vehicle; once on the ground he ran inside, in search of the others.

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Knuckles and Rouge walked on the brim of the little round square next to the workshop; they both gazed at the multitude of enemies. The female sighed "In total they are more than fifty… can you stand the outnumber?"

The echidna looked at her and grinned "Are you scared?"

"Maybe a little… I never faced so many enemies at once…" She responded nodding a little.

The red male looked back at the oncoming swarm "Think about this, Rouge. Their AI its nothing compared to the AI of Eggman's robots… I assure you."

Rouge smiled a little "You sure know how to encourage someone…"

Knuckles shrugged "I just stated the truth…" He said jumping down the steep surface of the hill and into the battle.

The female treasure hunter watched him disappear and reappear a second later down, in front of the first squadron of Shield Hunter; with a quick shook of her head she followed him without thinking a second time.

On the ground, Knuckles ran at the first robot's side and punched a hole in its middle; the mech fell on the ground and after a few convulses it died. A sudden rustle at his back attired his attention for a fraction of a second; upon sensing that it was his companion, he grinned "Rouge! I'll take care of the ones with the shield, you take the ones without it!"

The bat nodded and ran in front of the first team of Laser Hunters that was trying to reach the workshop using the stairs; she jumped and kicked the first one on the head with a downward kick. The mech fell on the ground with a decent sized dent on its head.

Rouge faced the team and pointed it with a finger "If you want to reach the workshop, you have to defeat me!"

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Knuckles punched another hole in the side of another robot; for him, this would be an easy, but long battle.

The echidna ran in front of another mech and took in his hands the shield; with a strong tug the red protection was yanked away. The arm was pulled off from its place, and the mech fell onwards; when it was on the ground Knuckles quickly finished it off delivering a punch on its head.

The Guardian stood up and ran at the back of another mech; he reared his right arm and punched the robot at the base of its torso. Like the previous ones, it fell on the ground lifelessly.

Knuckles stepped to the side and avoided a shot from an enemy; after it hit the ground, he ran in front of the Hunter and took a hold of its weapon before it could use its shield to protect itself. A yank later the echidna raised the new possession in the air and smashed it on the head of the mech.

The red male jumped and glided away to miss another hit meant for him, and in the process he smashed on the shield of another robot; the collision made him fall to the ground on his back, and made the Hunter lose its protection.

Knuckles raised his head and seeing the good opportunity he rolled on his belly and hit the legs of the mech with his left foot; the robot lost its balance and fell on its back, its own weight destroying its engine.

The Guardian stood back up and looked around; the moonshine helping him by illuminating enough the area. There were still five robots standing; a quick glance at the fallen one told him that he was halfway through the first wave of Shield Hunters.

The echidna ran towards the first one, and when he was near enough he threw himself on the ground with his feet onward; he slid under the shield and hit the legs of the mech, then he quickly rolled away from under it and briefly glanced at its fall.

He stood back up and ran behind another one; a punch later the mech fell on the ground like all the others had done. Knuckles briefly stopped and took a few full breaths with his mouth; after he felt concentrated again, he ran to the next one. He grabbed the right side of the shield with his left hand and moved it out of the way; he reared back his right arm again and delivered another punch.

Knuckles dodged a shot and mentally wondered; that was the eighth robot that he had destroyed, and there were two still up. Not to mention the second team that was slowly approaching like the humans had programmed them…

He even wondered at how the two hedgehogs managed to escape from the base; surely the site would have been full of robots and humans. Not even him could escape from such a place; not without a big external help.

Another shot that narrowly missed his head brought his full attention back at the battle that was going on; he looked at his left and saw that the second troop of Shield Hunter had arrived. Growling a little he ran in the middle of it and took a hold of the legs on one of them; he made it fall down on its belly and with great effort he started swirling on the spot.

After a complete spin, the four nearby robots were taken down; Knuckles released the one that he was holding and made it collide into another one. He grinned panting a little: the move had been a little straining, but he had managed to take down six of them in a single movement.

After a quick glance to his surroundings, he jumped back to avoid another shot; there were only six robots left, and this raised his spirit. He turned around and ran to the one that was at his back; he quickly sidestepped as he saw that the mech was aiming at him.

The shot went off, but instead of hitting him, it hit the shield of the robot that was pursuing the echidna. The shield flew away from its hands, and hit it in its eyes; the mech, not having anymore its sight, just stood there waiting for something.

The Guardian went at the side of his target and delivered a blow; the robot broke in two parts, and fell on the ground, with the other fallen ones. After the hit, the echidna ran to the blind one and cracked open its head with a punch; for the nth time that night, Knuckles watched another metal enemy fall down.

After a quick wipe of his wet brow, the echidna ran in front of the last four mechs and jumped over their heads; once behind them, he reared back both his arms and punched the back of two robots that were standing side-by-side. The two fell, and in that same instant the other two turned around and fired with their weapons; the two laser beams traveled towards the echidna, who managed to duck in time to avoid serious damage. However, he wasn't quick enough to avoid being hurt on his upper right arm; the burn wasn't serious, but it had stun his arm, making it insensible to any command gave by its owner.

With his predominant arm unusable, Knuckles ran around the mech on the left and delivered a kick to its legs; the robot fell down and shut down immediately after it hit the ground. The Guardian mused a little; he wasn't a good fighter with his feet, but he never imagined that the mech of GUN were so poor…

Shrugging off his bewilderment, the echidna ran to the right side of the last mech and jumped; he somersaulted in mid air and delivered a blow with the heel of his right foot. The Hunter fell down with its head cracked open, and after a few yellow sparkles it died, leaving its carcass on the field.

Looking up he saw Tails make an emergency land on it runway, and after a good glance at the sky he concluded that the young vulpine had been of word; the flying enemies were all down.

Knuckles smiled and shook his head as he saw Rouge limp a little towards him; he ran to her and called her name waving his left arm a little.

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Rouge dodged several laser beams by jumping in the air and gliding behind them all; she landed and kicked one that was in the last row. The mech fell and hit the ground with a loud thud; with a quick glance around, she sighed a little relieved as she discovered that her enemy squadron was less numbered than the one of his fellow treasure hunter.

The bat jumped to the left and kicked another Hunter on the head, downing it instantly; she made a little cry of victory as she discovered that the mechs were less resistant than the last time she fought them. Wondering a little at that, she ran forwards and kicked the legs of the next mech, making it fall on the ground helplessly; a quick kick later the robot was just scrap metal.

Running to the right, she delivered an upward kick on a Hunter; her foot connected with its weapon and made it fly away from its hands. Rouge followed the trajectory of the rifle and easily grabbed it in her hands before it could even hit the ground.

With her new weapon in hand, she shot at the head on the next robot, which made a little explosion; smoke sprouted out of the new hole, and the mech fell dead on the ground. She aimed again and pulled the trigger of the laser rifle; the beam hit its target dead in the torso, laving a neat hole in it.

A strange whir that came from her back attracted her attention; she turned around and barely saw a laser beam shot towards her. Her instinct took over her mind and she threw herself to the side; after she landed she quickly stood up and cringed at the pain on her left leg.

Not having the material time needed to control her wound, she quickly limped aside and avoided a new laser beam directed to her head; she jumped and glided where another Hunter was carefully taking its aim. Luckily, she managed to arrive before the mech had a clear lock-on, and with a midair somersault she delivered a strong kick to its head with her right foot.

The robot fell down on the ground, and Rouge used it to repair herself from the shots of the other mechs; she took the rifle that was still in the hand of the Hunter and examined its charge. There was still enough electricity left for eight or nine shots; with a sigh she pecked her head out of her hide and aimed the rifle.

The white bat carefully aimed at the head on the first Hunter; after a pull of the trigger, the laser beam was fired and it quickly collided with the marked point. After that the mech was hit, she took aim at another mech, and shot it down like the precedent.

Rouge ducked behind the fallen mech and waited patiently for the enemy to stop shooting; when she heard that they stopped firing, she pecked again her head out and quickly fired two times. Both laser beams hit their targets in the torso.

The bat cringed her teeth as she saw the second team advance steadily towards her position; a curse later she ducked to avoid several laser beams meant for her head. After they stopped briefly she stood up with her head and aimed; a pull of the trigger later a mech fell down like the others had down. After her own action, she ducked again.

The shooting went on for several minutes, until the female treasure hunter found herself without charge on the rifle; after a quick mental count, she pondered if she could took out the last two Hunters with her leg wounded and slightly unmovable.

Glancing down at her wound right below her knee, she noticed that it didn't lost blood; however, it was burned. Looking at it she guessed a second-degree burn.

Rouge took a deep breath and let it out slowly; she stood up and glared to her two enemies that were taking aim at her chest "You… I'll make you pay for this! You _don't_ have to treat a lady like this!"

The bat's eyes burned in anger and she ran forwards, forgetting about the pain on her left leg; she reached the first mech on the right and delivered a kick with her wounded leg. The mech was cracked in two, and it fell down on the ground releasing yellow sparks.

The female treasure hunter turned around and glared at the last robot; she jumped and glided to it. The Hunter hadn't even the time to raise its weapon that the bat delivered a strong downward kick with her right leg; the blow made the mech crumple lifelessly to the ground, amongst all the others.

Rouge slowly landed and looked around; she sighed and looked at where Knuckles was. She smiled as she managed to see that he delivered a kick to the last opponent mech; she smiled and started limping towards him.

Her heart jumped a little with happiness as she saw him start running to her, while calling her name and waving his left arm on the air.

The echidna slowed down and stopped in front of her; he looked at her left leg and eyed the burn that was just a little below the knee "Are you ok?"

If it wasn't Knuckles, she would have rolled her eyes and snapped at him that he had just asked a stupid question; however, she smiled at his concern and waved him off with her right hand "It's not serious, really…" She said pointing his right arm "What about you? Your right arm is limp."

The Guardian looked at it then back at the bat "Just stunned…" He responded eyeing the burn.

Both treasure hunters looked at the meadow as they heard the humans fuss about something; after a retreat command, the humans left and took with them the squadron of Gun Hawk. Knuckles sighed and looked back at Rouge "We won the battle, but we can't let our guard down. They'll be back soon or later…"

The white bat nodded her approval "Yeah, we should make turns for the night… its best to keep a continual eye on the situation."

The Guardian mumbled something and nodded; he handed her his left arm and smiled "C'mon, we need to get a little medical attention."

Rouge smiled and gladly accepted the offered arm; she put her right arm around his neck and felt his left arm go around her waist, supporting her. A light blush crept to her cheeks and she let out a little sigh of content; in her mind she thought at how and when to tell him her feelings.

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Not a too quick update, but not even a slow one… oh well…

Anyway, I'm not too happy at how Knuckles, Rouge and Tails' battle came out… but what can I say? I'm not always full of great inspiration like in the twelfth chapter… oh well… until next!

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	16. Mysteries

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Authoress' Note:** I'm sorry for the delay, but I needed a little vacation from the writing before I ruined the story with something wrong…

**Aless (x2):** Hello there! It's always nice to have someone new that review! Hope I'll not disappoint you with the next chapters.  
Anyway, Shadow's Fan? (Note the capital F)

**Chaos Flower:** Well, I admit that I have a good imagination, but the battle of Knux, Rouge and Tails didn't come out like I wanted… oh well…  
Sonic and Shadow ok-ish? Umm… I don't think so… *laughs evilly*

**RichaCo:** *Start crying A LOT* Thanks! That is something that an author hopes with all its heart to hear from the readers. Anyway, I'm happy to hear that my writing can do that. And to think that I was a DISASTER when making an essay (is that the right word when you write something like "Tell your dreams" and so on during class?).  
Also, two or three years ago I was a real **DISASTER** in English; I couldn't even understand the simplest thing… Luckily I met FF.Net and with the continual reading of fics I learned more in a year than in eight of school…  
For the errors, I assure you hat I always do my best in trying to eliminate them, but between being Italian and the fact that I don't have someone that knows English to help me with them, I always miss some.  
**PS:** Yes, I'll answer that with this: I am the one that's complaining about the errors. Last chapter I left a big error! It instead of his! ARGH!  
**PS2:** The dreams were slightly odd, I know that. But there's a good reason for that. Maybe in this chapter you'll understand.  
**PS3:** You still didn't tell me if you understood why the BioLizard wants them… (this is just my curiosity)

**Dragon Master Naya:** So I'm starting to create good cliffhanger that can give a spasm attack, eh?  
My writing one of the best? Thanks! To tell the truth, when I started writing I would have never imagined to become such a good writer, and I never would have imagined to have such a success with this story, or even Just A New Life (that has a quite strange plot). If you read RichaCo's response, you'll understand another reason why I never thought this.

**Knux:** Thanks, I'll update the chapters as soon as I can. For the moment enjoy this.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mysteries

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Chaos stared at the two hedgehogs laying on the ground; how was he supposed to carry them?

If one of them was at least awake he could carry him on his back or shoulder, but with both out of commission it was kind of hard.

The water creature raised his arms and looked at them; maybe he could carry a hedgehog for arm.

Not knowing what else to do, he carefully picked up the black one and moved him completely on his left arm; his head leaned on his upper arm, facing his body, and his lower legs dangled freely down his hand. His lower right arm was laying on his belly, meanwhile his left one was just hanging limply from his shoulder and pointing the ground.

Chaos, noticing instantly his light weight, stared a little at him; his mind elaborated an alternative plan.

He could carry both hedgehogs with only his left arm and without the risk of Shadow being crushed by the blue one's weight; with that, he could have his right arm free to use in case of necessity. Settling his mind on the new task, he picked up Sonic by his torso and carefully laid him over the first one on his left side, so his quills wouldn't hurt the black one.

Slowly taking away his right hand from over the blue hedgehog, he observed if he was going to be stable in that position; a moment later, a little slipping movement told him not.

Quickly placing back his hand over Sonic, he maneuvered him a little more; when he was done, the blue hedgehog was slightly laying into the fissure created by his chest and Shadow's torso. His head rested on the ebony one's chest and his legs dangled like his; his left arm was hidden somewhere between him and the other hedgehog, and his right one dangled down his 'perch', right next to Shadow's.

Chaos slowly walked towards the exit, but after some feet he stopped and looked down at the hedgehogs; none of the two had shifted from their assigned position. Good.

Looking back up, the water creature resumed his walk; he hoped that, once outside, he could avoid the humans after them and reach a really safe place.

At that though, he pondered deeply about where to take them; he could take them to Angel Island, but how he was supposed to bring them up there? From his part, he could just became one with the clouds, then fall down in the flying island in the form of rain.

With the hedgehogs, instead, it was impossible; unless he found some sort of flying transport like that 'airplane' Tikal told him about when he saw one fly past his home.

His train of thoughts brought him back to the humans; not all of them where evil like the one that was fixated with Sonic and Shadow, and he could go in the city for help. But… was it safe?

Even if many of them where goodhearted, they couldn't do much against the force that was pursuing them; he could clearly understand that. Not to mention that it could be a big risk to go where there were so many eyes; one of them could be an agent of the evil man, and warn him of their position.

His thinking stopped as he saw that he had reached the doorway; he had to worry about that later, now what he had to do was to absolutely pass the humans without being noticed.

Chaos observed attentively the pattern the human made; the man was walking back and forth through the upraised block of earth. He was probably patrolling the little area as best as he could in the dark night, since the moon had disappeared behind a thick blanket of clouds.

The clouds had been a good thing for him, but only by half since he could clearly feel that they were preceding a heavy storm, exactly like the one that had passed over the ruins a few days ago; by that time Angel Island was around there, so it was caught in it too.

He unconsciously walked out of the cave and looked up at the sky; he just hoped that the storm would not come, or at least slow down, until he was somewhere safe. Not for him, but for the hedgehogs; he was sure that they couldn't make through it, not when in those conditions…

Suddenly a light shone upon him and he looked back down; he mentally growled at himself and his foolishness. How could he have been caught so easily?

He looked at the human; he was returning the gaze. Even if he couldn't see it because he was behind the strong cone of light, he could clearly feel his eyes on him. The human wasn't bad, but he was a subordinate of the evil one, so that made him an enemy.

Chaos narrowed his eyes a little and brought his right hand in front of the two hedgehogs that he was carrying, meaning that he was going to protect them until his last bit of energy.

The water beast stood motionless like a stone statue, watching the human do the same; he could feel that he was scared, yet he could feel that there was something else. He also appeared unsure of what to do; it seemed that he wanted to let them go, but he was greatly scared of the consequences if the action was discovered.

"Unit Beta. Unit Beta. Report status of the patrol."

It had been faint and raspy, but it made both Chaos and the man jump a little in their places; the human took the little instrument from his belt without taking away his eyes from the water creature.

Chaos, instead, just stared with attentive eyes at every move the human made; he was preoccupied that he would tell the others that he was there with the unconscious hedgehogs, and for that he wanted to attack him. However, something in the back of his mind told him to wait; if he attacked, the human would surely have screamed out in fear and drag the attention of everyone that was there.

So he just waited for the event to unfold, motionless and with slightly narrowed eyes; they narrowed a little more and he clutched the hedgehogs a little more with his left arm as he felt the human fidget a little with the instrument.

"Negative," He said with normal voice despise the fear he was experiencing right in that moment "The area is clear."

_"Copy that,"_ It responded _"Continue searching, the general wants the hedgehogs back alive before they reach their friends or Chaos."_

The human put away the little instrument and stared at the three in front of him; a few seconds later he turned and walked away, onto another piece of land.

Chaos relaxed and looked at the hedgehogs; they were still out and he knew that the Chaos Energy left in them couldn't last more than a day or so. After that, without it they would surely die.

"Please… come back…"

The faint whispering words were followed by a really faint shudder that came from the muscles of the black hedgehog's body and a single tear from his exposed eye.

The water beast slightly tilted his head to the side; what was he dreaming about to make him cry?

Growling again to himself and his newfound curiosity, he snapped back to reality; why was he acting so oddly? He had never been so curious in his entire life until he ended up into this fight. And to think that he initially just wanted to make pay whoever scared the chao…

Shrugging off the question from his mind, Chaos walked to the front edge of the platform; he looked at the water and started pondering again. He couldn't swim for fear of losing the hedgehogs; the liquid was too cold for them. He could walk around, but often the blocks of dry land would be too distant to reach with a simple jump.

He looked around for another way, but in the end he always ended up with the fact that he needed to swim; he could try to climb the little rocky wall that was at his back, but the problem was that he was going to put the hedgehogs in danger of falling down.

Discarding the idea of climbing, he walked the perimeter of the land in search for something that could help him in getting out of that situation; when he reached the little shore that was at the right of the hidden doorway, he gladly noticed the boat that the human left behind. It was rather small and arrow shaped.

Chaos touched the tubular perimeter with a finger and tilted his head a little; the boat wasn't made of wood, but of a soft and yellow substance, and its tubular perimeter was filled with what seemed air. On the back of the boat there was some strange heavy metal thing, meanwhile on the front, laying right in the corner, there were some packages.

The water creature carefully placed the two hedgehogs in the middle of the boat next to each other and on their side, so their quills wouldn't pierce through the soft material; staring for a little at them, he noticed that neither Sonic nor Shadow moved a muscle. It was a clear sign that time was running out for them.

His head turned to gaze at the three packages on the boat's front; he walked up to it and picked one in his right hand, examining it carefully. It was enveloped with the same material of the boat, but transparent in color, letting see what it contained.

Chaos turned the package in his hand and without a warning, the content fell at his feet; he picked it up and it unfolded to reveal its true form. A thick and soft blanket.

The water creature stared at it for a second, then he placed it over the two hedgehogs as best as he could and leaving their head out so they could breath; even if they were unresponsive at everything that happened to them and around them, Chaos felt that they eased up, even if just slightly.

Not wanting to waste anymore the precious time, the water creature walked behind the boat and slowly pushed it into the water; some seconds later he was swimming his way to the nearest city. He knew that it was not a good place to go, but it was the only option available in that moment.

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Walking.

It was all what he could do in that precise moment; his brother had disappeared what seemed to be hours ago and never came back to him. He briefly stopped and looked at his surroundings; he was in the corridor that led into the Testing Area.

Not knowing what to do or where to go, Shadow decided to follow the corridor; maybe in that area he could find some clues to understand _who_ his brother was.

The black hedgehog resumed walking, but the sudden shrill scream made him transform his slow pace into a mad run; the scream had been clearly filled with pain, and on top of that he knew very well at who it belonged to 'Hold on, brother! I'm coming!'

Shadow reached the Testing Area's door, but before he could open it he heard a heavy commotion on the other side; he stood still with fear until no rumor was heard again.

When everything on the other side of the door ceased to make sound, the ebony hedgehog opened the door; his eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

Humans were laying around sprawled on the floor unconscious; they were wearing the old uniform of the GUN, but what shocked him the most was the fact that they were faceless. It was like staring at a really dense cloud of gray smoke that only had the shape of a face.

A movement caught his eye, and he walked up to the human that was trying to sit up; he stopped in front of the GUN agent and just stared, feeling an old and forgotten rage rise from the deepest part of his heart. It was not a rage towards the human, but a rage towards himself, towards the fact that he couldn't protect his brother from whatever happened in there.

The man raised his head and looked at Shadow with unseen eyes; the ebony hedgehog could feel fear coming from him. He was not scared of him, but of someone else…

Shadow watched him a little more, then he looked down the Testing Area's main corridor; something in the back of his mind was telling him to go, or better, something was dragging him there. It could have been curiosity, but he knew that there was something deeper; the hedgehog down the corridor was in pain. He could feel it, it was just a faint sensation in the back of his mind, but he was sure of it.

He started running, but when he shifted to the hover run, he toppled on the ground with a loud yelp of surprise mixed with pain; he shakily stood up and watched his feet.

His ruby eyes widened in shock; his special shoes were not there. Instead, there were a normal pair of black-laced shoes and his golden ankle-bracelets were nowhere to be seen; the same was for his gloves and bracelets that where totally absents, leaving his hands bare of any protection.

Suddenly, something on his persona felt slightly different; he walked up to a window and faintly saw his reflection.

He stared open-mouthed as he noticed that he was young once again…  
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How much it had been?

A second? A minute? Or an hour?

He didn't know it, for him it could have even been an eternity.

The only thing that he knew was that he was somewhere cold, dark and devoid of everything; he just lay there, curled on his side as best as he could, trying to keep what warm he had left in him.

Why was he there?

That was another question that plagued his already tired mind; maybe he had died, and now he was in the afterlife. Or was it?

Sonic uncurled just slightly and looked at the darkness surrounding him; there was absolutely nothing besides his persona "Hello?" He called again in hope that someone could hear him.

His hope was destroyed as no response came; he tried to get up and walk around to figure out how to get out of that place, but the bitter coldness and the emptiness of the place was taking away all his energies. He curled back up and just waited for the end to come; he had lost his will to fight.

More time passed without a sound, then a female voice started singing a lovely and soothing tune; for a moment he thought that he knew that tune and that voice, but everything was just too hazy and confused to remember.

Not knowing what to do, or better, not wanting to do something anymore, he just lay there and listened at the voice; the tune slowly, but surely started making him drowsy and unable to think straight.

'This is the end…'

That was the last coherent thought that crossed his mind before he closed his eyes and started drifting into the numb darkness…  
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The two treasure hunters entered into the workshop, where a fox, a hedgehog and a human were anxiously waiting for their arrival; the two slowly walked up the stairs and sat on the bench.

The bat looked at the three in front of her "We managed to repel the first assault of the enemy, but knowing GUN, they'll be back. What we need to do is to make rounds for the rest of the night. Jo, since you're fresh, you will be the first one."

The human nodded his approval "I'll take a longer one since you, Knuckles and Tails are tired more than me."

The bat hummed, but a quick glance at her and the other two mentioned told her that he was right "Ok," She said "Next it'll be the turn of Knuckles, next there's mine and after that it'll be Tails'."

Amy started pouting again for the fact that she was let out of the whole thing; Rouge saw her expression and sighed "Amy, I know that you want to help, but I can't take the risk of you falling asleep. Sorry."

The tone of the female had been neither kind nor harsh, but it had been firm and clearly told the pink hedgehog that she wasn't going to change her decision.

Amy sighed and felt the tiredness of the day start to get to her; maybe Rouge was right about the risk of her falling asleep during her turn, and they couldn't afford something like that "I guess you're right, Rouge."

The bat nodded and looked at Jo "You should start now. Knuckles will change place with you in about…" She stopped and looked at the clock on the kitchen counter, noticing that it was one in the morning "Two hours. Is that ok?" She asked looking back at both the human and fox.

The human nodded smiling and walked down the stairs to reach the computer room; after he disappeared from view, the bat turned to Tails "Go and rest, Tails. You need it."

The fox nodded and looked at Amy "You can use my room, Amy. You'll be comfier than on the couch." He said walking away to get his bed ready for the girl.

Amy looked back at Rouge "If you need something that require my assistance, don't hesitate to call me." She said before turning away and walking after the young fox.

The bat sighed deeply and leaned on the table's border with her back "She's a great girl, but I can't ask her to join this war… it's wrong… she has to just stay on the sidelines."

Knuckles copied her and massaged a little his paralyzed arm "I agree, she's still too young for this. I would say the same for Tails, but he's different. He lived his infancy like Sonic and I. Without a family that provided protection."

Rouge turned her head towards him "So this make him an adult?"

The echidna looked back at her "Our bodies may be young, Rouge, but our minds are mature. We are what humans like to call anthros, living beings that are between them and animals. This makes us reach maturity in a very young age like animals does."

The female treasure hunter looked at him and smiled "You're right, living with humans sometimes makes me forget this."

Knuckles smiled and glanced at her, then his smiled faded to let a serious expression take place on his face "However, Sonic is different than me, Tails or every other sentient being on this planet… I can sense it."

Rouge looked at him confused "Different?"

The red male took a deep breath, then he exhaled it slowly "I really don't know it, Rouge, but there's something in him. Something unexplainable that it's greatly different from anything that any sentient being has… and from what I could gather in the ARK's core, Shadow has something too. Slightly different from Sonic's, but it's there… deep within him."

There was an almost unnerving silence between the two treasure hunters; Rouge continuously shifted her eyes from spot to spot on the echidna's serious face, trying to understand what he just said. Knuckles, instead, was staring forwards, trying to understand what just came out of his mouth.

After a long pause, the red male sighed deeply "I know, this is making no sense at all…"

Rouge closed her eyes "I agree. It appears that Sonic is a living mystery. No past, no family besides Shadow, and now this mysterious stuff you just said…"

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Not a too quick update, but not even a slow one… oh well…  
Anyway, this chapter turned out better than last. I guess that the week off only make me good. Until next!

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	17. Fleeing From GUN

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Authoress' Note:** Eleven reviews for the previous chapter! **Eleven!** This is making me really proud! Thanks you all!

**Authoress' Note2:** Just for letting you know… the fic is **135 pages** long (this chapter included and counting out all the thanks and notes of the previous ones).

**Zeo339:** Hello there! Here's the next bit.

**Shadow Of Oblivion:** I'll never get tired in hearing that my fic has become so good. Thanks! Here's the next one. ENJOY!

**RichaCo:** I never dwell on the past, I'm just very surprised by this (besides I never would be a good writer of essays, since they are forced. And I am simply unable to write like that).  
What happened to Shadow's brother? Well, you'll find it out soon since I'm planning to write it soon.  
For the little fluff between Knux and Rouge, I assure you that I'm working on that, but rushing it will only result in a bad piece. So try to be patient.

**Chibi Yoshi:** I assure you that I didn't copy that from Broken Chaos! I swear it! You're right, we have probably thought of it in the same brainwaves… but being in so much authors in here, well… I think that this happen more frequently than we think.  
Chaos in the city? Well, I thought about it, and I was undecided to make him go there or somewhere else, but in the end I found myself making him go… I'm not telling you anything, or I would only spoil it. And I really appreciate that you like how I described his personality.  
For Tails and the other's fight… well… I still think that I could have done better than that.

**Firehedgehog:** Yes, that could be a version of said Horror, anyway… I'm very, very happy to see someone waiting for the remake of the first chapters. How do you find them? Better or worse? (I'm not talking about the writing, but about the content, since I changed a good chunk of it. Especially in the third chapter).

**Knux:** Here's next, enjoy!

**Shadowkyzr:** One of the best? *Jumps up and down* Thanks, it makes me really happy to see that everyone like this story so much ^^  
Umm… Sonic and Shadow… umm… *goes away without answering*

**Chaos Flower:** YES! _One day,_ because I'm evil and I like to make them suffer!  
'I beg of you!' is more a quote from Maria than from Tikal.

**Aless (x2):** Like I said in my bio, Sonic and Shadow are both on the same level. They are so COOL!  
Who's Shadow's brother? Umm…you're gonna discover it really soon. Why he can't remember him? Well, there's a good reason that will be explained here or in the prequel (if I do it…).  
You know? I'm really happy that you review a second time asking me when I was going to update, that gave me the final push and now the chapter is complete.  
  
  


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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Fleeing From GUN

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Shadow slowly walked to the window and touched his right cheek; then both his hands traveled to his quill. He was truly back to his young years.

A sudden sensation crossed the back of his mind, attracting his whole attention; it had been just for a brief moment, but the sensation continued to linger in his head, making him almost crazy. The sensation was something too real to be one of his lost memories or a joke of his mind; he simply knew it. Someone out in the real world was in deep trouble, and he perceived it.

The problem was… who was this person?

Surely not someone normal; it needed to be special, like him.

At that thought, his eyes widened and he turned around, screaming the name of the only member of his family he knew in that time period; his mind instantly went to the blue hedgehog.

A strong desire to know what was happening to the other hedgehog took over him; however, the lingering feeling in his head had disappeared, leaving him only with unanswered questions. The first of those was if Sonic was ok.

With a deep sight he closed his eyes; of course Sonic was alright, he was always alright. Nothing could stop that hedgehog 'Or is… truly it?'

'In the last days, Sonic faced so many situation that took him away many energies, and in the end his body wasn't able to sustain anymore the physical strain he was enduring.'

Shadow opened his eyes and looked at the corridor that led to his brother location; there was nothing he could do at the moment, unless he willingly woke up from his 'dream'. The only problem was that, even if he knew that he was in a dream, he couldn't wake up right now; the mental cage was too strong to break.

He started walking down the corridor; maybe if he remembered who his brother was he could finally break free from his prison and help Sonic. His head lowered and his face drew a sad expression 'Sonic… as soon as I'll free myself from my prison I'll help you.'

A tear slipped down from his right eye "So, just hang on…" He muttered looking back up.

His eyes narrowed in new determination; the faster he remembered, the faster he was going to wake up, and the faster he could go and help him. His pace transformed from a normal walk to a normal run and mentally cursed the fact that he was no more in possess of his special shoes.

He increased his run to the max, copying from his memories the blue hedgehog's stile of run, and turned a corner, towards his brother "Just hand on, Sonic! I know you can do it!" He shouted into the air.  
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Darkness, darkness, numbness and darkness.

That was all that it could be felt in that moment; the five senses were dead, like the capability of formulating any type of thought. Memories of a life were locked away by the comforting darkness and only a little part of the previous conscience was active; that, being the part that was aware that darkness and numbness surrounded it.

Time and space didn't existed for it, it was like being in limbo and not being able to feel emotions it just rested into the comforting darkness, which was the only thing it knew.

However, something nagged it; it had been just for a brief moment and extremely faint, but it stirred something into it. Slowly, it started to discover the self-awareness and something else stirred in itself; now, it could faintly feel that it owned something. Something that wasn't darkness and numbness.

Another part of itself stirred, and it was no more a 'it', but a 'he'; as soon as he realized this, memories returned to his mind and he remembered who he was.

Yet, something was missing from his memories, and that were the ones regarding his infancy.

Why couldn't he remember them? What happened that made him lose them?

Curiosity took over his mind and he opened his eyes; he was, indeed, into darkness. However, this time he was aware and back to his old, regular self.

He stood up and noticed that his body was the only seeable thing into the darkness; a question instantly popped into his mind.

Where the hell was he?

Sighing and scratching his head he started walking forwards, hoping to find something that could help him; however, his mind wandered to that sensation. It had been like someone had called him, and thinking about it, he knew who that someone was.

A black and red hedgehog by the name of Shadow.

He didn't know how that happened or even how he knew it; he just did, like the morning after the 'last' battle against the BioLizard where he knew that he would find him in that forest.

Time passed with him walking, until he saw something on the horizon; he ran to it, and what he saw made his right eyebrow go up a little.

It was a little oval area made of blanket that was suspended from the ground by two feet; in one of the ends there was something that looked like a pillow. The whole thing appeared heavily blurred and black colored

Sonic sat down and watched around, then, some seconds later a faint black shape, barely distinguishable from the background, appeared; he instinctively lay down and watched the figure sit down. Just a little later it started singing the same song of before.

Minutes later the song ended and a light appeared some feet away from the little site, blinding him; the blue hedgehog closed his eyes and when he looked again, he found out that he was standing again and that the site was nowhere to be seen.

Walking in the center of the previous scene a thought crossed his mind.

What if that was a memory of his lost past?  
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Chaos had swam around the ruins for the entire night by now; he could have been faster, but the noise produced by the boat would have alerted the humans, that by now were swarming in the entire place.

A thought crossed his mind; it was plain that the humans knew that they were here, or else they wouldn't be in so much in this zone. Narrowing a little his eyes he swam under a still standing bridge, being very careful to not be noticed by the five humans that were walking over it.

The water creature looked up; the sky was starting to lighten, letting see the surroundings better. Luckily until now the weather had been merciful with him and his two protected, giving them the entire night; however a drop, which landed on his forehead, told him that the time was up.

Gradually the rain increased in intensity and Chaos looked frantically left and right for a temporary shelter; his search was unfruitful and he did the only thing that he could do. He swam, and fast too.

The noise produced alerted a nearby group of humans, who started yelling orders at each others; the water beast left them be and swam past under another bridge. Now things would be harder, the humans knew their position and the weather was getting worse by the minute; not to mention that the time for the hedgehogs was slowly coming to an end.

A sudden strange sound attracted his ears and he briefly glanced back; his eyes narrowed in anger as he saw that three other boats were pursuing him. With a growl of frustration he increased his speed.

Yet the enemy was slowly gaining ground on him.

A quick scan of the surrounding water told Chaos that he was coming close to the end of the swamp; he turned left into a canal made by two buildings and stopped as he came to the shore, Which punctually swarmed with the enemy's agents.

The water creature looked back and saw the three boats stop.

One of the men on the ground pulled out something and put it over his mouth _"Chaos! Surrender and return the hedgehogs, we don't want anything from you and we will let you go."_ He said whit voice altered by the machine and by the now heavy rain _"We just want the hedgehogs back."_

That made Chaos go into a towering rage; there was no way that he let them put their dirty hands over the two hedgehogs. Not even in a million years.

The water beast jumped onto the boat and protectively stood over the two fallen creatures, taking a fighting stance; he was ready to fight, and he would do the impossible to take the two to a safe place.

Lightnings started to cross the cloudy sky, illuminating the place, and they were soon followed by loud thunders; the storm was there, and it could give him some advantages. The wind started to pick up, making the rain almost horizontal.

Chaos looked back at the three boats and saw that they were dragged away; he quickly looked at the humans on the ground, which were now only faint shapes against the rain, and jumped back into the water, dragging his boat away with him.

The wind wasn't a problem to him, as a being born by the Master Emerald he never felt fatigue doing these type of tasks; he swam as fast as he could and reached another shore. Dragging the yellow boat on solid ground he quickly reached for the two hedgehogs that were now well soaked with water.

After a quick check over their condition he took them, blanket included, and started running towards the city; he needed to find help. A few hours and Sonic and Shadow would die in his arms.

Suddenly, a sensation on the back of his mind made him briefly glance down at the two bundled hedgehogs; it had been brief and faint, and it seemed some sort of call. Some seconds later he felt it again; this time, however, it was different…

Unconsciously, he started pondering over what he felt.

What had happened? And why he felt it too? But mainly, what was the meaning of that?

Shaking a little his head, Chaos focused back on running to the city; now he was on open ground, but 'luckily' the rain was giving him a little advantage. Meanwhile humans were not made to be in this type of weather, he was one with the liquid, so he was not bothered by it.

His only problem was that his passengers were now in a danger worse than before.

Morning came and Chaos finally managed to reach the outskirts of the city he saw from the ruins; a quick glance to the streets and he had to duck into a back alleyway. Although the rain was still hard, people were starting to go around in some sort of closed metal carts without horses or oxen.

He took another moment to control the conditions of Sonic and Shadow; their time was almost up. However, he was amazed at their strength of survival; they were completely drenched in water, part of their bodies were heavily injured and they were as cold as the rain that was falling, yet they were still alive, even if barely.

Raising his head, the water creature looked again at the streets; what he was supposed to do now?

He could ask for help, but the humans would surely flee at the first glance of him, or worse… call the humans like the ones he first meet after he was released from the Master Emerald. Their weapons were useless against him, but for the hedgehogs they would be lethal; not to mention that they could manage to take them away from him and give them back to that evil human.

However, if he didn't try, the two would surely die in his arms…

For the first time in his long life, Chaos was deeply confused on what to do.

Since he couldn't afford to waste time, the water beast walked back into the open and looked around; without really realizing it, he started running down the large path, being very careful to stay to the sides, so the strange carts wouldn't hit him.

He ran, until he reached almost the center of the city, where he stopped abruptly; like a blessing, he started to feel it. A Chaos Emerald was nearby.

Emotions flooded his mind; emotion that he couldn't clearly understand and that were contrasting each other. Maybe a day he would understand them, but for now he didn't have time to ponder over them.

He started running towards the mystical emerald and ended up in front of a big building; he walked in front of a wall and tested it by poking his finger on it. It was made of a think and solid dark material that reflected his image, and he could feel that the Chaos Emerald that he needed was somewhere on the other side of it.

Chaos reared back his right arm and punched the surface, which exploded into thousands of pieces; quickly, he used his free hand to protect the two hedgehogs' heads from the flying sharp fragments and entered through the new opening.

The water creature looked around the big room; it was fairly wide, with a high table on the far end that went from side to side and some plants here and there. There were some humans around the place; three were standing in front of the black divisional and five were behind it. All of them stared at him with fear and shock in their eyes.

Chaos ignored them and slowly walked up to the counter; he could feel that the emerald was nearer. Looking around, he saw that the counter wasn't really from side to side, but that on the right end it ended before it reached the wall; he walked up to the pass and went behind the divisional.

The humans in the bank slowly started to make their way to the new exit, trying to not make any noise that could warn Chaos that they were fleeing; an employee, before leaving his place, pressed a little button under the desk behind the counter. After that he left like the others

However, nobody noticed that the water beast was carefully carrying two dying hedgehogs in his left arm.

Chaos slowly walked in front of a door that was behind the counter and with a push he broke it down; he stepped into the new environment and gave a quick look at it. It was a long corridor with several doors on both sides; not caring about what could be in there, he walked straight, where the feeling of the emerald was coming from.

Interminable seconds passed with him slowly making his way through the corridor, but in the end he finally reached a staircase that was leading down; however, his head turned around to look towards the entrance of the place. Strange sounds were coming from that direction, and they reminded him of those metal carts with blue and red lights on tops of them.

Narrowing a little his eyes, Chaos ran down the stairs; the humans with the weapons were out there and were probably going to try to send him away.

Without realizing it, he reached the end of the many ramps of stairs and came to a stop in front of a huge round metal door; behind it, the Chaos Emerald was patiently awaiting for someone.

Chaos placed the hedgehogs on the ground, near a wall a hidden behind a desk that was near the wall; after he assured himself that nobody was coming down the stairs, he walked to the huge door and poked it.

It was massive, and the water beast pondered if he could truly open it; he grabbed the long vertical handle with both his hands and started pulling with all his might. Some seconds later something into the iron door moved making a faint vibration.

He put his left foot on the wall near the door and pulled harder; a metal sound later he found himself on the ground with the bar in his hands. He looked at it then threw it to the side and stood up; he walked back to the door and noticed that it had budged by an inch from its original place.

He looked at the hole left by one of the handle's end and put hit hands in it, gripping the edge; he started pulling again, and finally he felt it move slowly. Seconds later he stopped and looked at the fissure that permitted to see in the new room; it was just an inch wide, so he couldn't see much.

Chaos put both his hands in the fissure and with his right one he started moving the door, meanwhile the other remained on the frame; two seconds later the door gave in and the water beast felt it swing open with a really annoying metal noise.

The water beast examined the new room; it was long and many big metal shelves were on the sides. On the front there were many squares with a little horizontal handle.

He tilted his head a little to the side; were those doors?

Shrugging it off, he walked into the room following the signal of the Chaos Emerald; he stopped in front of one of the metal shelves that was at the end and gripped the handle of the square where the emerald was hidden. With a firm yank a square bowl came out of the shelf making a crunching metal sound.

Chaos reached inside the bowl with his right hand and gripped the only thing that could save the hedgehogs; the red Chaos Emerald.

He turned around and headed for the exit, but when he saw that a group of humans had reached the room and that two of them were taking away his protected he felt himself momentarily froze on the spot with another unknown emotion.

Well, not really unknown since he knew that it was the same that he brought to the humans six months ago; mortals called it 'fear'. In all his life he never felt it, but now the fact that the two hedgehogs were taken away from his care… well, it greatly scared him.

What if they were given back to that evil human? What if they died before he could activate the emerald?

His eyes widened in realization and he quickly fused with the gem, activating it; he instantly felt the drain, but it was only one. He looked up as the two humans started making their way up the stairs.

Chaos started running towards them launching a cry that was different from all the previous; it was long and low, and seemed to be more a desperate call than anything else.

The humans backed away, fully aware that the water beast was invincible for them; the two men holding the hedgehogs started running up the stairs, but they were quickly stopped as Chaos grabbed them by their necks.

The water creature slowly dragged them back to the basement and made them face him with their backs on the wall; he narrowed his eyes at them and then looked down at the hedgehogs. Only the black and red one was slowly absorbing energy from the emerald.

He looked again at the human then back to Sonic; he placed his right hand on his peach colored chest and felt.

There was no heartbeat, and Chaos felt himself freeze on the spot for the second time in less than five minutes.

--------------------------------------

The night at Tails' workshop had been tranquil; there had been no sign from GUN and everyone was glad.

Rouge walked in the computer room and saw Knuckles sitting on the chair, which was standing only on its hind legs, with his shoeless feet on the desk; his arms were lazily folded on his lap and his eyes were halfway closed.

"Is this how you do the watch?" She asked crossing her arms.

Knuckles, being flung out of his resting status, yawned and stretched on the chair "I assure you that I was aware."

The bat raised an eyebrow "Yeah, of course…"

The echidna sighed and stood up "You can believe it or not. Besides it's hard to explain… it's some sort of 'sleep without sleeping', to say it easy."

Rouge tilted her head to the side, but then she just shrugged and walked next to him; she looked at the two screens and sighed "Now what are we gonna do? I mean, we can't stay here and wait for Sonic and Shadow to show up or for another attack from GUN…"

Knuckles sighed too "Well, I'm at loss of ideas too… for now we should wait for everyone to get up…" He said looking at the clock on the desk near the monitor of the computer "After all it's almost eight in the morning…"

Right on clue Tails slowly made his way into the room rubbing his right eye "Morning."

The two treasure hunters turned to him "Morning Tails." They said almost in unison.

The fox yawned and stretched, shaking away the sleep "Nothing new, right?"

The Guardian nodded "Right, GUN has took a night break and I'm sure that it'll not come back for another few hours. However, we can't let our guard down. They might do something unusual."

"Sonic and Shadow?"

Rouge and Knuckles looked at each other, then back to the fox "Unfortunately no…" The bat said sighing deeply.

Tails nodded sadly "Anyway, what you guys wants for breakfast?" He asked trying to cheer his mood and the one of his friends.

"Fruit." The two responded together.

After a second of silence the two started blushing slightly, trying hard to not to look at each other; Tails looked at the two a little confused, then his eyes widened and he quickly left the room for the kitchen upstairs.

Knuckles quickly looked away "Uh… umm…" He said, trying to start a conversation and end the terrible silence.

Rouge looked away too and scratched her head behind her right ear "I… uh… I…" 'What the hell are you doing Rouge!? This is the perfect moment to tell him and the only thing that you can say is 'I'?'

She took a deep breath and slowly released it; she slowly turned around and cleared her throat "Knuckles… I have to tell you something…"

The echidna slowly faced her, and desperately tried to subside the hot feeling on his face "Yes?" He asked, managing to not falter in his statement.

There was a long silence once again, and the two slowly started to inch closer to each other without even realizing it. However, they were interrupted by a jumping pink hedgehog that entered into the room "Hi Knuckles! Hi Rouge!" She happily exclaimed full of energies.

Knuckles resumed staring at the two monitors and managed to hide from the two females his terrible blush "Hi." He quickly greeted back.

Rouge, however, was trying hard to not grasp Amy by the neck and start strangling her "Hi…" She said a little bothered.

A sigh later she started chuckling, then her chuckle became a mild amused laugh; Knuckles turned and looked at her a little confused "Oh, it's nothing," She said "Really."

The hedgehog girl raised an eyebrow confused more than the Guardian "Umm… I came here to tell you that breakfast is ready."

The bat calmed down and sighed "Ok, we're coming."

Amy nodded and went back upstairs, almost screaming to Tails that they were coming.

Rouge looked at his red friend "Shall we go?"

"But… who's gonna do the watch?"

"I'll do it. I've already ate my breakfast."

The two looked at the doorway to see the human male scratch away the last of his sleep from his face.

Rouge smiled "Hi Jo! Slept well?"

Jo shrugged and walked to sit in the chair that Knuckles left free "Not bad… the couch is more comfortable than I had thought."

"Wait, if we took both parts of the couch, then where Tails slept?"

"He said something about a mattress on the floor in the garage area."

The two treasure hunters looked at each other, then walked out of the room and into the garage area; sure enough there was a mattress laying in a corner behind the Tornado. It was gray from the dust, and the two guessed that the young vulpine used it when he was too tired to walk back to his room.

"_Aaahh!_"

It had been loud and shocked, and it attracted the attention of every inhabitant of the house; Rouge, Knuckles and Jo ran up the stairs and stopped in front of the TV, where a shocked Amy was pointing the screen.

Tails was in the kitchen, fixing the screen of his little TV with wide eyes.

"What happened?" Rouge asked frantically.

Receiving no response she looked at the screen and raised her left eyebrow, like the one of the two next to her.

On the screen a human was holding an umbrella to protect herself from the hard rain and a microphone; behind her there was a bank, which was heavily surrounded by police cars.

Unfortunately the news ended before the trio could extrapolate something useful from it; Rouge took the remote from the couch and turned off the TV, then she placed her other hand on Amy's shoulder "Amy, what happened?"

The pink hedgehog turned around and a few tears leaked out of her eyes "It's… it's…" She stammered.

Knuckles sighed and looked at Tails, who was slowly recovering from his own shock; he walked up to him and placed his right hand on his left shoulder "Tails?"

The fox looked at him, then back to the screen "Sonic and Shadow…" He said looking back at the echidna "They are there, and there's Chaos too. The officials say that he's holding them hostages, but I don't believe them…"

The Guardian's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then he looked at the others "Guys!" He called "We need to get busy! Now I know why GUN hasn't attacked yet. They are after the hedgehogs!"

At his call, everyone quickly reached the table in the middle of the room; the echidna leaned his hands on the wooden surface and looked at the fox "Tails, do we know where they are?"

The young vulpine nodded "Yes, they are at the National Bank of Green Lake City. With the Tornado II in special mode it's just half a hour from here."

"Good, take the plane and go."

"Uhhh… there's a problem, the left wing is damaged… I can temporarily patch it, but I don't know if it'll hold on in that storm…"

Rouge looked at him "We have to risk. If GUN get an hold on them once again, they would not be able to escape once again, and I'm not going to think at what those humans are planning to do with them."

Tails nodded, then he ran down the stair to get his blue special biplane into the workshop and repair it as quickly as possible.

"Knuckles…" Amy started, dragging the red male attention to her "What about Chaos?"

The echidna took a deep breath and slowly released it, looking down at the table "I don't know, but like Tails said, I'm sure that he hasn't them as hostages. Chaos doesn't know that… he kills or pro…"

The other three raised an eyebrow at his interrupted sentence; then started pondering as he started smiling. He looked back at them and his smile widened more "He's protecting them!" He exclaimed almost screaming "Chaos _is protecting_ Sonic and Shadow!"

Jo scratched his head in confusion "How's that possible? I mean… if what GUN discovered about him, then his only purpose in life is to protect the chao… for example, he came to Desert Base because there were three chao there."

Knuckles frowned a little and shook his head "I don't know how, but I'm sure that he's protecting them, and it'll take a lot for GUN to reach their goal if he's there." He said looking back down at the table 'Is it possible that… he's repaying his debt with Sonic?'

He looked back up once again "I have to go back to Angel Island… Tikal might have some clue why Chaos has decided to help them. Besides I think that we need to move away from here… this place is not safe anymore."

Rouge smiled at him "Great idea, a flying island can't be reached that easily. This will give us time to plan something good."

The echidna looked at the two spies "Umm… is one of you two able to fly Tails' Tornado?"

The human slightly raised his right hand "I can."

"Good. C'mon, we need to go now."

--------------------------------------

Look… I killed Sonic…  
*Angry mob appears with a lot of axes, spears and others painful weapons*  
Ahem… I guess that I have to start writing the next one… right?  
*Mob nods*  
Ok, but try to not kill me, or the next chapter can go ciao-ciao.  
*Mob raises weapons*  
Ok, I'll start the next chapter, just don't hurt me… please!

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	18. Prelude To Chaos

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Knux:** Yes, yes! Reviews do me a lot of good. The more people reviews, the more I write happily, and the more the chapter is good.

**Firehedgehog:** Now, now, now… don't we fret over things… put down that mallet… or someone might get hurt…  
Wriggle around in seat Eheh… thanks for the compliment. And yes, I'm redoing them because I'm fixing errors and the way they are written (paragraph and so and so fort), and I might rewrite the first three once again, and give every speakers their own paragraph, but for now they'll do. I have to go on with the fourth and the next ones until I say so.  
No, I don't have AOL, I have ICQ and MSN Messenger (probably dead since I'm not checking hotmail by a huge period of time). I could get it, but at the moment, even if I get it, we couldn't chat because I don't have a household internet. So I'm forced to take my bike, go down in center (not much… a few kilometers) and pay for the connection.  
Then there's the question of the time zone (I'm Italian), and that is probably going to kill what little possibilities we had…  
Now, I'm searching for a job, but my city is small, and there are not many jobs here… but if I get one I could pay the many bills and finally get a new connection. Hopefully for the next year. So, just hang around, I might find a way.

**RichaCo:** Y… Yosh? Anyway, happy to hear you love this fic. Well, I'm going to just say that the problems for Chaos are just at the beginning. Read and discover what I mean. What have I done to Sonic? Uhh… I just killed him… Runs away Read and discover what happen next!  
Anyway… Returns and hands him a blue and black badge with the number 50 on it Hooray! You'll get this for being the 50th one that reviews here! Great goal I must admit. I'm too happy with this .  
**PS:** Now, thanks to you I started to like the couple Knux/Rouge…

**Kyzr:** Well… that… umm… yes… I can only tell you to read the chapter 

**Aless:** Don't worry about that. It happens. Once I couldn't even leave a review because FF wouldn't log me in…  
Anyway, happy that you liked the chapter, and if I'm not mistaken, this will be better.  
No, there are no super emeralds in this fic. Just the plain ones and the Master.  
For the most important question (Sonic is truly dead?), well… read this to discover what my mind has done.  
For the prequel/sequel… I'm not really sure if I'm going to do it. When I'm done with this fic you'll understand better, and maybe I'll ask the readers if it's a good idea. But for now… On with the show!

**Chibi Yoshi:** I know, I know, I know. Evil Cliffhanger… You have to thanks Za for that. In that moment she hit me over the head with a shovel and I blacked out. She took control of the body and she just wrote it.  
Anyway, Start crying for the happiness you really admire me and respect me so much? Sob Thanks sniff I'm so happy! Sniff sob  
Anyway, if my predictions are true (hardly), this fic will be probably around 200 pages when I'm done.

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Prelude To Chaos

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The General looked at a paper on his desk, then he sighed and scratched his eyes "Tell me why we have so much troubles in getting those two hedgehogs back."

His friend, who was sitting on the other side of the desk, sighed too "I truly do not know that. Maybe because something superior is on their side."

"You know that I don't believe in those things…" The first one responded shaking his head a little "There's no God or entity that are watching us from above."

"Then what about Chaos? Isn't he something that goes beyond us?"

"Yes, but he is not invincible. That blue hedgehog proved it. And Project Shadow is like the other, and he was created by Gerald Robotnik. So that make them not omnipotent."

The scientist looked out of the window "Anyway," He said looking back at the other human and picking a paper from a folder in front of him "I examined the leftover of the blood samples of both hedgehogs and…"

"And?" The General asked taking the offered sheet.

"Even if much of the DNA was lost for some unknown reason, the remaining ten percent…"

"I see, the remaining are perfectly matching each other." The other man concluded for him looking at the paper with several numbers and other things.

There was silence for several seconds before the General handed back the paper to the scientist "Do we knows why the DNA was ruined like this?"

"Well, I managed to decode the leftovers, and they are just their normal genes. What was lost is the part with their special ones, probably infused with Chaos Energy, or better made entirely of it. The thing that I can't understand is… How could that part of DNA disappear like that? There's no trace of it anywhere."

"Disappear?"

"Yes."

The General hummed for several seconds "What would happen if the two hedgehogs remained without this energy?"

The other shrugged "Probably they would die, and without an energy source the Chaos Energy based DNA would dissipate like it happened with the samples."

"It is possible to build a weapon that could take away enough Chaos Energy to make them just powerless? It would be a useful weapon even against Chaos."

"I'm not sure of it. The only known thing that could stop Chaos Energy is the Master Emerald, but the only one capable to use it is its Guardian. And Knuckles the Echidna will not use it against his friends."

The greedy General hummed once again, then he pressed a button on the intercom "Yes?" A male voice asked in response.

"Lieutenant. Take two squadrons of Hunters and depart for Angel Island. _Bring back_ the Master Emerald with you. Do whatever you want. Kill the Guardian if necessary, but bring back that emerald. It's an order!"

"Yes sir." The male voice responded unsure of the order, but being just a lieutenant, the man at the other end of the line couldn't do otherwise but to go and take back the Master Emerald.

The General looked at the head scientist in front of him "A few hours, and you'll have that stone at your disposal."

--------------------------------------

Eggman stared at the screen of the computer, where he saw a newscast. He turned around and faced his two best robots "Go to Green Lake City and _kill_ Sonic. If you can, kill even Shadow, but your main task is that blue hedgehog. Without him the others can't stop me."

The two mechs nodded, then turned around and started leaving the room.

"Ah. One more thing. Beware of Chaos. GUN says that he wants to kill them, but I'm sure that he's there to protect them. And he's more powerful than you two."

Metal Sonic turned its head to face his creator "But he's slower than us." It said leaving the room alongside the other robot.

The evil doctor chuckled happily "This time, Sonic, you will lose. Now my robots truly have an intelligence."

--------------------------------------

The huge lizard was resting in the center of the core; she looked at her legs and gladly noticed that they were finally complete. She stood up on her new legs and walked around, trying them out; she stopped and returned in the center, where she just lay down.

The healing process was done, and it unexpectedly made her hind legs grow; she was finally complete and the life support on her back was now just a broken ornament.

A sudden sensation interrupter her moment of joy and she raised her head; the sensation was telling her that huge bolts of Chaos Energy were released from another Chaos Emerald for some unknown reason.

She pondered a little, then she teleported away, back on the planet; near the zone where she felt it. Might as well go and give a check at what was going on there. The hedgehogs could be involved, or however badly thing could go, she could get another Chaos Emerald.

--------------------------------------

Chaos stared.

That was the only thing that he was able to do. He did not even realize that the human moved away and brought the hedgehog on the ground, behind him, where he started trying to reanimate him.

When he realized it, Chaos saddened; he knew better than the human did. Sonic could not be brought back to life. Without Chaos Energy he wouldn't be able to.

The water creature looked at his right arm, which was still standing where the hedgehog would be; a second later he lowered it and slowly turned around, unconsciously assuming a slightly hunched position. There was great tension in the air and everyone was hoping with all their hearts that the man would be successful.

But Chaos knew too well. It was too late.

A moan caught his attention and he moved his head in the left direction; it was Shadow, who had a pained expression. He was moving, even if slightly, and continuously moaning something. It seemed to be really important, at least to him, who could feel the effort that the black hedgehog was doing just to try to say something.

He walked over and brought his head near his, trying to figure out what he was saying; unluckily, it was just a garbled mess of moans.

He placed his right hand over his forehead. He knew that the hedgehog felt the death of the other, and so he started moaning; maybe with that gesture he could make him acknowledge his presence near him, and maybe he could find another way to tell him what he wanted.

Suddenly, Chaos lowered a little his head; that was a stupid thought. How could they interact like that?

He was going to take away his hand, but the fact that Shadow stopped every movement made him stop even before he started moving. Had he truly felt his presence?

The water creature concentrated harder, and after several seconds something that was not his crossed his mind. It had been very quick, but it had been as clear as a sunny day.

He straightened up and turned around, looking at the dead hedgehog on the ground; he saw the human stop and shakes his head. In consequence to that, the other five saddened and looked at the ground in despair.

Chaos, instead, was more thrilled at what he felt from the black hedgehog. It was not a word, nor a thought; just a direct meaning, like his way to communicate with Tikal. And there was a human word to describe that meaning.

Life.

The question to how Shadow knew how to do that would have to wait; right now the important thing to understand was why he meant life in that particular moment. Could possibly be that the blue hedgehog was still alive even without Chaos Energy?

The water creature walked over the fallen creature and stared at his body. How could he possibly be still alive? 

Chaos felt the anger rising in his mind and he felt an unwanted need to unload it; luckily he managed to calm down before someone could get hurt. That was not the right moment to get violent; he needed to solve the puzzle.

The human stood up and backed away, still ashamed at his failure, but the water creature paid no attention to him; he was too much into his thinking to notice his movement. If Shadow was right, then Sonic could be brought back to the living world.

But how?

Normal living creatures, if stimulated enough could produce energy to start living once again, then Chaos Energy would slowly come back with time. But with creatures like him and the two hedgehogs was completely different. Chaos Energy couldn't be produced; probably, the only exceptions were the Chaos Emeralds and the Master one. But he himself wasn't sure of that.

He slightly raised his right arm and looked at the red gem; a body couldn't produce that type of energy, but what about directly receiving it from its source in huge quantity? Could it be done?

He narrowed his eyes and picked up the hedgehog in his arms; there was only one way to discover it, and he would be damned for the eternity if he didn't tried it.

Chaos walked to the desk, and with a quick swing of his right arm he freed it from all the junk that was on it; he placed Sonic on it and stared for a moment at his hands. A second later he closed them in fists and started collecting energy from the Chaos Emerald in both of them.

When he felt that the charge was powerful enough, he placed his right hand on Sonic's chest and the left one on his head; a moment later he released the charge and the hedgehog arched his back for the shock produced by the huge amount of energy that passed through his body. After the charge ended, he went limp again on the table.

Chaos narrowed his eyes; it could be done, he just needed to force the energy to stay in his body long enough to permit some sort of linkage that would bring him back.

He resumed channeling energy on his closed fists, with the aim to make this one more powerful; the humans moved around and silently watched Chaos' efforts with a little renewed hope.

The water beast stopped charging and released it once again into the limp body in front of him; like the previous time, however, Sonic just arched his back for the shock and went still again. Chaos growled and once again repeated the procedure, ending with the same result.

After the seventh try, he looked at his hands; what was wrong? Why he couldn't do it? Was he missing something important?

Anger, desperation and sorrow filled his conscience; he didn't want to fail. Not after what he, and him, went through…

He raised his right arm into the air and gathered as much energy as he could. He didn't want to fail; he wanted him to come back. Wanted him alive.

And with those thoughts he brought down his hand and hit the blue hedgehog's chest with enough strength to destroy a wall; as soon as his hand connected with the smaller creature, an intense white light erupted from the collision point.

Everything disappeared from his mind and for a moment he saw darkness; he felt someone grab his right hand and a feeling of gratitude crossed his mind. Then everything came back; sounds, images and the feeling of reality.

A quick look at his surrounding told him that he was now on the other side of the room; leaning amongst the rubbles that came from the wall behind him. He slowly stood up and looked at the humans; everyone was rubbing their eyes in an attempt to get rid of the effects that the bright flash gave them.

Chaos looked at Sonic; he was still laying there, unmoving, but this time he felt that there was something different about him. It was the drain.

He slowly made his way to Sonic and pondered why he was feeling so light and why he was seeing two images instead of one; maybe it was because he had used too much energy and was now barely able to stand together. At the moment he just wanted to become a puddle and rest, but he shoved it away and placed his right hand on his chest.

A wave of joy and happiness pervaded him; he did it. Sonic was back.

The hedgehog's heart was slow and his breathing almost absent, but he was alive, and the fact that he was faintly draining energy from the emerald told him that he was out of danger.

"A… alive?"

Chaos turned around as a human spoke; he looked at him, then back to the hedgehog. After a second he returned his eyes on the human that was slowly walking next to Sonic; he shakily placed his finger on his throat, and after a few seconds he started crying for the joy "Alive… he's alive…" He murmured.

The other five stared at the water creature in deep silence, then a grating sound came from one of them.

"Guys! You ok in there? It's been more than half an hour! Should I send another squad?"

The human near the stairs snapped out of his trance and hastily picked up that strange little machine from his waist "N-n-no! We are ok!"

"You sure?"

"Y-y-yes!" He stammered back "Captain! That GUN officer was terribly wrong! Chaos is not holding Sonic hostage! He saved him! He was dead and he saved him!" He nearly shouted in excitement.

The water creature, which still had his right hand on the blue hedgehog's chest, tilted his head a little to the side. GUN? What was he talking about?

"Hold on! What are you saying?"

The human looked at Chaos "W-well… I don't know what really happened, but it seems that Chaos is protecting Sonic and the other hedgehog. The GUN officer was wrong saying that he was going to kill them!"

The good beast looked at him deep in wonder. Kill them? Who was this one that was saying false thing? What was going on?

"Anyway, are they alright?"

The human holding the black hedgehog walked to the table and carefully put him next to the blue one; Chaos noticed that he had stopped moving and mumbling, and that now his expression was more relaxed.

The man holding the little thing walked over them and sighed "They are alive, and judging by Chaos' calm behavior they are not in danger of dying… but they are really messed up…" He said eyeing their bodies "They are badly burned, and the bandages on Sonic's legs are red, meaning that there are cuts. Also, it seems that they haven't eaten for some time now. I can see their ribs…"

"Hang on. Some paramedics are on the way with two stretchers."

"Understood." The human said closing the communication and putting away the mechanism.

He sighed and scratched his head "What a day…" He murmured.

--------------------------------------

  
  
Shadow was running down the corridor, following that sensation given by his hidden memories; he turned a corner and felt a glacial shudder ran down his back. He gasped and arched his back, bringing his hands at the base of the back of his neck. 

After toppling on the ground, he stood on his knees and elbows, still clutching the back of his neck; it was a horrible feeling and his eyes started releasing a few tears. He tried to say something, but a lump in his throat was preventing every sound from coming out.

The hedgehog tried to stand back up, but ended in only curling up in the near corner with his face on the wall. He removed his hands from his neck and slid down, becoming a little tight ball of quills; he coughed and moaned something. It was like if a part of him was being torn away from him.

Not knowing how, his mind went to the blue hedgehog and a part of it started producing an unpleasant thought; another one, however, was fighting it and telling him that Sonic was still alive.

This went on for several minutes, until he started crying "No…" He moaned out with a cough "He's alive… someone… please someone… save him… he's still alive."

A presence loomed over him with concern and curiosity, and with all its attention towards him and at what he was trying to say.

Shadow took a shaky breath "Please, save him. He's still alive, I know it! I'm sure of it! Don't let him die…" He closed his eyes, releasing another single tear "Alive." He said quivering from sorrow, pain and fear of loosing someone dear to him.

He thought at a lively Sonic, ready to bolt into action without a second thought and with his usual grin 'Alive.'  


  
  
Sonic fell on his knees, trying to breath; seconds later he doubled over and rolled on his back. His body became numb and the darkness started to slowly crawl forwards from the back of his mind. 

This time, however, he wasn't going to allow that; he concentrated on staying conscious and fought back the pull towards it. His eyelids dropped, leaving just a crack to see the black space he was in; even if he decided to fight, he knew that it was a loosing battle as he felt that he was lacking the energies to do it.

Suddenly, a bolt of energy crossed his body, reviving him for a fraction of a second and pushing away the darkness; unluckily, it came back as soon as the warm energy left his body. The second charge was more powerful, leaving him pondering at whom was helping him.

He knew that the energy that he was receiving was Chaos Energy, and that no normal people and nor machines could do that; after the seventh bolt he inwardly smiled. He could faintly feel his anger, desperation and sorrow.

'Chaos.'

For one last time, the one that was giving him those jolts of energy repeated the process; the charge crossed his entire body, erasing the darkness in his mind and the numbness of his body. Sonic smiled and placed his left hand over his chest, where he could feel something.

Then, like it always happen in the dreamland, everything melted away, leaving a perfectly conscious Sonic in a warm and peaceful environment where he could just relax and rest.  


--------------------------------------

Tails started to repeatedly bang his head on the side of the Tornado II, attracting everyone in the house "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" He looked at the ceiling and slightly brought his hands up "How could I forget?_ How?!_"

Knuckles raised an eyebrow "Tails? What happened? What did you forget?"

The fox turned to him "_That!_" He nearly shouted pointing the nose of the blue biplane.

Rouge looked at it "I don't see anything…"

"Exactly! There's no Chaos Emerald! Thus the plane can only reach the Tornado's max speed even if it's in special mode!"

The echidna cringed a little to those words "This mean that…"

The young vulpine threw his hands up in exasperation "Exactly! It'll take me more than two hours to reach Green Lake City! And in the meantime GUN has free opportunities to recapture them!"

Knuckles placed his hands on the fox's shoulders "Calm down Tails! There's Chaos with them! I'm sure that he'll throw hell at whoever try to harm Sonic and Shadow."

Tails sighed and looked down "How can you be so sure?"

"Because Chaos was born to protect." He responded smiling reassuringly.

The young male looked up at him "And if he fails?"

The echidna chuckled lightly "He will not fail. Not this time. Thrust me."

Tails nodded "Maybe you're right, Knuckles. Well, I should go now."

The fours watched as the fox hopped in the Tornado II's seat and turned the engine on; the plane roared with life and within seconds it was running on the runway and up in the sky.

Rouge walked next to the Guardian and looked at the gloomy sky "How can you be so sure that Chaos will not fail?"

Knuckles smiled "I'm not sure of it myself, but a week ago, before the whole ARK incident started, Tikal informed me that he was starting to change."

Amy raised an eyebrow "Change?" She asked "You mean like that time Sonic made him a good guy again?"

The echidna shook his head "No, no… not like that… even Tikal is unsure over this changing… she just felt it."

There was silence in the little hangar, until Jo walked behind the Guardian "Should we go?" He asked eyeing the first Tornado.

Knuckles nodded and walked to it; with a jump he reached the top wing and crouched in the middle, gripping the onward edge with his powerful hands. The human followed him and examined the pilot seat.

Rouge walked next to him and examined it too "Jo… Are you sure to be able to fit into this tiny place?"

The taller male smiled at her "Rouge, I may be a human, but amongst my race I'm one of the smaller ones. I'm just five feet and two inches tall."

The bat looked at him with half closed eyes as he climbed and managed to stay into the seat without problems "See?" He asked smiling once again.

The female treasure hunter sighed "Ok, ok, ok. Just be careful. I don't want to have to stop Tails from a rampage fit because you destroyed Sonic's biplane."

Knuckles looked at her "Hardly. Tails is not like that. He will just pick up the pieces and put them back together once again."

The red biplane's engine roared to life and the Tornado slowly started making its way to the runway "Knuckles! If the coordinates are right we should reach Angel Island in a hour or so."

The Guardian nodded his approval and clutched the edge of the upper wing better; seconds later they were up in the sky like the fox had done.

Rouge looked at Amy "C'mon. We should pack what we need to take with us."

The pink hedgehog nodded her approval and the two left the hangar to complete their task.

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Look! I resurrected Sonic!  
Angry mob stops and lowers the painful weapons  
Well… happy now that Sonic is back?  
Mob nods  
Good.  
Anyway, it seems that thing will go from bad to worse for our heroes. What will happen?  
We shall see only in the next chapters! Until next.

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	19. A Two Hours Truce

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Firehedgehog:** Canadian? I have some parents (very distant ones) there. Toronto to be precise.  
Anyway, if you want my email is in my bio.  
Anyway (again), I have a folder of fics too, so I can read them whenever I want without going around the city (it's… umm… 16 mega and something).  
Don't worry, whenever I have a new remade chapter I'll warn you in the summary with [04R up] or something like that.

**Dragon Master Naya:** … … I don't know what to say… should I have made Sonic stay dead for a little longer? Maybe another chapter?

**Chaos Flower (x2):** Need super glue? Takes out a big tube of super glue I suggest you to use this. Az's Super Glue! Fret over, my friends! It's very limited! Only five tubes! And only for 0.00000000000000000000001 €!

**RichaCo:** Have you already forgot Metal Shadow? It (better say 'he', now that they both have intelligence) was in the fourth chapter.

**Aless (x2):** So many questions… and the only answer I can give you is just to read. Anyway, I'd like to see that pic of yours. My mail is in the bio.

And guess what? Here's the next chapter

For the next one… well… I don't really know… I hope soon.

**Kyzr:** Big sweatdrop Uhhh… Sorry… but I'm gonna stick with my original plan backs away and shrink into a little ball Please… don't hurt me… please…

**yugi's dragon friend:** Uiii! Hi there! It's been 11 chapters! I was starting to lose hope to read you again. Anyway, I'm happy to know that you always keep an eye on my works. It makes me work harder

****

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

A Two Hours Truce

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Chaos looked at the stairs as he heard rushing footsteps coming down; seconds later he saw four men wearing black pants and a white shirt, which two of them where holding two plastic stretchers.

One of them quickly walked towards the two hedgehogs, but stopped before he reached them as the water beast eyed him with suspicion. Everything paused and Chaos, despite the fact that he was seeing double, tried to feel if the new human was an enemy or not.

Seconds later the liquid creature slowly backed away, meaning that he was not going to attack him; however, he maintained that cold gaze on him. Whenever the man did something suspicious, he would jump into action and give him a good lesson to not mess up with him or the hedgehogs.

The human gulped and carefully made his way to the desk, so the creature wouldn't mistake his actions. He started quickly examining the two hedgehogs, then he motioned for the two with the stretchers to come forwards; they complied and soon Sonic and Shadow were on them.

"We need to hurry. They need medical assistance as soon as possible." He commented to his comrades.

The other three nodded in approval and they started quickly walking towards the stairs.

Chaos watched them with wary eyes; where they were taking them?

Only one way to find it.

He started to follow them, but when he reached the stairs he stopped confused; why the steps where slightly moving in a circle?

The water creature placed his right hand on the wall and his left one over his left eye; not only the two images had started spinning faintly, but he also started feeling a faint annoying pain in his brain and his body was… slightly waving on the spot for no apparent reason.

He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of it and soon regretted it as the pain increased momentarily.

After stopping and feeling the pain go back to normal, he looked up the stairs and heard that the four humans were almost at the end. He decided to forget about his problem and started walking up the stairs, quickly reaching them.

The men gave him a quick glance, then they resumed their ascending "Is he going to stalk us until the hospital?" One of them asked in a whisper.

"I think that he's following Sonic and… uhh… and the other hedgehog." Another in the lead whispered back.

"Hush you two! We don't want to make him mad once again." Another one whispered in an admonishing tone.

The group finally reached the main floor and made their way through the hole opened by Chaos; however they stopped before leaving the cover offered by the building "Aw, sheesh! Isn't this stupid storm going to stop?" One at the back moaned looking out.

Chaos walked near the opening and looked outside too; the rain was as hard as it was before he broke in the building. Some lightning were still crossing the sky, soon followed by loud thunderclaps. The only thing that had ceased was the wind, which was now just a light breeze.

The group resumed walking and reached a strange white tank that was placed next to them; another human, which was already there, opened its back and revealed its interior. He hopped into it and helped the others in loading Sonic in it.

The remaining hedgehog was loaded into another tank, which was the same as the first one, and everything was settled for the departure; the human accompanying Sonic started to close the door, but before he completed the task Chaos stopped him by placing a hand on its edge.

He looked at him and narrowed his eyes; or he was going with the hedgehogs or the hedgehogs weren't going anywhere. They needed the emerald's power, and he needed to protect them from the evil ones.

The human gulped and stared in the green eyes of Chaos "O-ok. Y-you can come." He said stepping to the side and allowing the beast into the tank 'Hope that he's not going to mess up with the equipment…'

As soon as Chaos was into the ambulance and positioned himself in a free corner on the other end, the human closed the other door and called for the one in the front to start driving. The machine started moving and the water creature almost lost his balance for the sudden move.

The tank picked up speed and it started blaring loudly; Chaos looked up, where the sound was coming from, and nearly wanted to destroy the source for it was increasing his pain. He wished for it to stop, but from the incessant and annoying sound he assumed that it was something important.

He shoved the annoying noise in the back of his mind and focused on the human that was fumbling over the hedgehog; some seconds later he slowly melted into a puddle and rested, somewhat still looking up at the laborious man.

Chaos stared at the rocky path of the blue cavern where he met with the hedgehogs; everything appeared hazy and unreal.

He looked up and saw Sonic and Shadow at the other end with that stone statue hovering over them with a raised paw.

The water creature widened his eyes and started running towards them; he dearly hoped to reach them before they were killed.

However, when he was about halfway, the path collapsed and he fell into a dark void, hearing a too familiar cry resound in the icy emptiness; what seemed to be an eternity later, he hit the ground and a metal environment quickly surrounded him.

He stood up and looked in front of him, where he was staring at those broken lives he had encountered before; rage pervaded him once again, and for the second time he destroyed the tanks filled with those little creatures not meant to exist.

When everything was destroyed, he bent over and picked one of them in his hands, gently caressing it with his right thumb like it was the frailest thing in the world. Its head lolled limply and he felt desperation and sadness pervade his soul.

Why? Why those humans were playing with life like that? What were their goals? What they wanted from them?

The water creature carefully turned the little dead creature in his huge hands and watched his back; it was so small and premature that not even fur was there. Its eyes were also sealed shut like some certain mammals of the world when born.

He couldn't miss to notice how the little creature appeared so frail and in need of the love and protection of a mother; something that, if he let them live, they would never feel. And all because of some greedy humans in search of power.

Chaos rolled the little creature on its back once again and stared at its little muzzle; he knew their species. They were hedgehogs, right like the two he was protecting so hard.

His eyes widened and he looked around; how could he have forgotten them?

He looked up and noticed that there was only metal ceiling; growling to himself he started walking towards the door, then he suddenly stopped as he realized that he was still holding the creature in his hands. He looked at it one more time, then he carefully put it back where he firstly took it.

He didn't like to leave them like that, but the two older hedgehogs were more important now.

Chaos made his way through the endless maze of corridors, trying hard to understand where they could be. As time passed he found himself running as fast as he could, often letting out a long cry; maybe if he did that they could hear him and answer…

Once again, an endless time later a sudden sensation crossed his mind; he instantly darted towards it, understanding that it had been a call for help from them. He ran, ran and ran, but as fast he could get, the corridor he was in seemed to be endless.

The sensation returned, more urgent now, and he put more effort in his mission to get where the hedgehogs were; a light a the end of the hallway told him that he was nearly there and he ran faster.

The end came, and he found himself in a room like the one he first got up from his fall; there were two containers like the others, but bigger, on the wall opposite the door, and into them, immerged into the green liquid, were non other than the two hedgehogs. Sonic and Shadow.

He slowly walked up to the first one, which was containing the blue one, and placed both hands on the transparent surface; he appeared to be lifeless. He was just an empty body floating in that green water, like the other one.

Chaos felt every type of emotion well up in him and he started pounding the glass with all his strength; a denial thought forming in his mind. He was not dead. He wasn't!

Slowly the transparent surface broke, and all the content fell on him, making him backtrack a little; after the green liquid stopped pouring from the container he stared at the lifeless body of the hedgehog that was laying on the ground. A second later he quickly reached him and placed his hand on his chest; there was no pulse and, worst of all, there was not Chaos Energy in him.

He slowly picked him up and stared at his limp body; he threw his head backwards and let a sorrowful cry resound in the air. He had no Chaos Emerald with him, hence he couldn't revive him like he had already done.

"Um… Mr. Chaos?"

The puddle, which was Chaos, bubbled out something and pulsated a few times, confusion welling up inside him. First he was into a tank, then he found himself back into that cavern and base with both hedgehogs dead, and now he was back into the tank. What happened? What was that experience that made him so confused?

"Mr. Chaos?"

"If I was in you I wouldn't disturb him. We don't want to have him angry, right?"

"He'll be angered if he wakes up and find Sonic and the other hedgehog not here."

Eyes slowly appeared and a moment later the water creature's head formed into the puddle.

The human smiled uneasily as he saw Chaos' stare "We… we have reached the hospital."

Chaos reformed his body and looked around; the hedgehog was quickly, but carefully unloaded from it and placed over a bed with wheels. He followed the human, which anticipated him out of the machine, and jumped on the ground, staring at the new surroundings and at the weather.

The hard rain had become just a heavy drizzle and the wind had picked up once again, making the weather more annoying than before; luckily they were under a well placed portico, where the entrance to the building was collocated.

Looking at his left, he noticed that Shadow had been placed over a similar bed; a second later two humans for each hedgehog started to push them with haste into the building that humans called hospital.

The water creature followed them, arousing several stares full of fear; he paid them no attention and continued following the nervous group of humans. Not every day a worldwide famous hero came to the hospital in the brink of death.

The group turned a corner and another human joined the party "What are their conditions?" He frantically asked.

The one that was in the ambulance briefly looked up at him, the he returned his eyes forwards "Barely alive." He firmly stated.

The one that firstly spoke glanced down at the two hedgehogs and sighed; no need to ask him more. All the wounds were so visibly that anyone could see them even if he was heavily myopic.

"The only thing that I have to say is that their temperature is around thirty degree Celsius. Now they are gaining, but it is a really slow process. Slower than usual."

The group reached a corridor with many double doors and parted, entering two adjacent doors; Chaos briefly stopped and looked at them. What door he was supposed to choose? The left one or the right one?

The water beast decided to follow Sonic, since he was worse than the other, and pushed open the left one. He walked forwards, slightly pondering what that continuous and steady, but slow beeping sound was, and confusedly eyed the two humans that were carefully cutting the burnt bandages.

"No wonder that the paramedic didn't cut the bandages. Look at them…" The one on his left muttered loud enough for him to hear.

"He has probably made the wisest decision…"

"Yeah."

Chaos walked at the foot of the bed, which was just a foot and half lower than him, and eyed the two, who quickly stopped and looked at him; after seeing that he wasn't going to do anything they resumed what they were doing. Soon the burnt bandages were taken away, revealing what was under them.

The two human males let their jaws drop open; deep cuts were all over them, in particular in the back, and were surely infected before they got burned. Fur was falling down every little gust of air reached it, revealing nasty second-degree burns that were taking the entire length of his lower legs.

The oversized purple zone had become black and was now mixed with the burn, which was not a pleasant sight. On his ankles, instead, there were third degree burns and the skin was almost black.

Lastly, his entire body was slightly skinny and his lips were cracked despite the fact that he had been under the rain for surely a few hours; that meant that he wasn't eating for a few days now and that he was greatly dehydrated.

Both humans looked at each other with shock in their eyes "What the hell happened to him?" The one on the right asked to the other.

"I'd like to know it myself."

"I think that this is gonna take us more than we predicted…"

The other looked again at the hedgehog's legs and sighed deeply "You're right."

The water beast looked at Sonic's head, which was turned away from him, and saw that little speck of blood between his quills; curiosity instantly took a hold of him and he tilted his head a little to the side, trying to figure out something. After a second of pondering he parted the quills, revealing a smaller purple zone.

The man to the right, noticing his movements, looked at where he was looking and noticed the bump too. Chaos took a step backwards and gave him space, looking at his every move.

The wound was small, but it was in a nasty spot, and after a quick examination the human stood back up and faced the other, giving him a significant look. The two resumed their works and slightly quickened their pace, being very careful to not mess up with the hero's legs.

The water creature stared at them, then he decided to go and see how the other hedgehog was doing; he walked out of the room and left the two humans do their job. He entered in the room on the right, noticing the same beeping sound; only that this one was a little faster than the other.

Chaps stopped near the door and watched the two new humans work on the black one with carefulness.

The one on Shadow's right carefully took his wrist "He seems to have a broken wrist, or at least cracked."

"That's the last of our problems…" The other muttered briefly glancing up from the hedgehog's head "Look at this. The skin is almost completely charred… I never saw burns so bad. He seems to have walked through hell. Not to mention that he's starved and surely dehydrated. Like Sonic. I'd like to know what happened to them…"

The man on the right hummed his approval, carefully taking away the right glove and bracelet; after he was done he placed them on a metal table near him and, looking back at Shadow's hand, he lightly gasped in surprise.

"Look! The hand doesn't even presents a light burn."

The other looked at it, then at the glove "The gloves must be made of a special material, like the shoes. Look at them, they don't even present a slight sign of melting…" He commented glancing at the hedgehog's feet.

The first human looked at them, then he glanced up as he saw something azure walk towards them; he froze on the spot as he recognized the fearsome creature that attacked Station Square only six months ago.

"C… Christian?" He called for his companion.

The other human looked up from what he was doing and became like a stone statue.

Chaos looked at the two, then he shifted his gaze on the hedgehog; he seemed to be sleeping peacefully despite the bad condition that his body was in.

The water beast stared at him for some seconds, then he left the room and stopped between the two doors; hopefully both hedgehogs will recover rather quickly from those wounds and the fact that they were somewhat like him gave them the ability to completely heal from something like that.

In the end, Chaos concluded that the two hedgehogs would be up and running like normal in less than a month and that the scars left by those wounds would be surely hidden under new fur.

Time passed, with him glancing around in the corridor at the several humans that walked past him with wariness; he didn't truly mind them. After all he had been the bad one; only now he was good, but even if he would be able to say it to them, humans would surely not trust him.

The door to the left opened, revealing the two humans pushing that bed with the blue hedgehog on top; only this time he had been properly treated and was covered with a blanket that reached his chest. His arms were laying at his side, over the white cover, and his hands were without gloves.

Chaos stared at them until they started going down the corridor, and when they stopped in front of a metal door he started pondering. Where were they taking Sonic? Should he go with him or stay behind with Shadow?

He was pondering so much that when he saw them go into the new room it was too late for him to follow them since the metal door closed behind them with a ting sound. In that same moment the other door opened, revealing the other two humans with the black hedgehog.

He, like Sonic, had his wounds treated and bandaged and on his left wrist there was a hard substance, which prevented any movement.

He looked up at their serious faces, then he started to silently follow them to the same spot where the others were standing; there was another metal door next to the first one, and after several second it opened with the same sound of before.

They all entered into the new room, which was wide enough to hold a bed, two humans and a water creature in it; the door slid shut again and a second later Chaos felt slightly pressed to the ground. Several seconds later the pressing stopped and he felt that his body was taking a jump without him wanting it.

The group walked out of the little room and started walking into the white corridor; they reached a room and the bed was placed near the window. The room was wide enough to let two beds stay in it next to each other, but for the moment there was only one of them; probably the other occupant of it was going to be Sonic.

The water creature glanced at the window, and noticed with great wonder that they were high; probably almost at the top of the building.

After one of the humans finished fidgeting with a machine, which promptly started beeping once it was activated, and a strange pole with a transparent sack hanging on top, he left the room, leaving him and his companion alone; the man that stayed behind looked at Chaos with wary eyes.

However, deep down the doctor's eye, the water creature could see curiosity mixed with wonder.

The human tore his gaze away from him and took a folder that was on the foot of the bed, instantly starting to scribble down something that only he and other in white coat could truly understand.

He sighed deeply and glanced at the unmoving hedgehog with preoccupied eyes; after a second of staring he placed back the folder where he took it and walking away, closing the door behind him.

Chaos watched him, and when he was out of his visual he walked next to Shadow and looked at his face; there was no expression on it and a human could be deceived on believing him dead rather easily since he was taking little and quiet breaths.

He stared at him for several minutes, but no movement came from him; something in him stirred and the need to do something to make him feel better started to take a full hold over his thoughts. However, he knew that there was nothing much he could do besides holding the Chaos Emerald active for the drain.

Several other minutes passed in silence, until the door creaked open and let in two humans and another bed "We have to keep a careful eye on him. Did you saw that cerebral hematoma? I'm surprised that he's till alive." The one on the left commented looking at his friend.

"Yeah, but you're forgetting who he is."

"You're right. But I can't stop being preoccupied for him."

The two put the bed next to the other and like before, one of them left the room after he did the same thing with a machine and a pole, meanwhile the other took the folder and a pen. Before starting writing, however, he looked at the unmoving blue hedgehog "I hope that I'm right. You can survive this, right?"

The man started writing and was totally unaware that Chaos was approaching him; he had heard their speech, and that 'cerebral hematoma' didn't sound to be a good thing. The water beast stopped in front of the human and patiently waited for him to finish what he was doing.

A minute later the doctor stopped and replaced the folder back where it belonged; he saw Chaos staring at him and he nervously hinted a smile, thinking at how he should behave with a dangerous creature that he didn't even know if he could understand him.

The water creature looked at him, then to Sonic and back to him once again; he wanted to know what was going on with him, and his eyes shoved it.

The human, catching the meaning of the motion, sighed audibly his disconcert "He's in a really bad condition. Those wounds on his legs are bad, but not like the one in his head. You see, there's a big blob of blood in the back of his brain that could be deadly for him. And we can just hope that he absorb it."

Chaos looked back at the hedgehog; was he really that bad? And yet the drain was there…

He walked next to him and stared at his face; why everything had to be so hard? Why he was feeling so different than just a few months ago? What were all those emotions that swarmed in his mind?

He knew some of them, but the others were new to him.

Looking back at the human he saw that he was watching him with interest and a little smile on his face "You care about them, right?"

Chaos stared; yes he cared. Maybe even more than the chao, or maybe in a total different way; at the moment he couldn't tell.

"You're not evil like the others says. Or better, you're a really good hearted guy." The human said walking to the other bed and taking the folder "No name… we know that he was Sonic's enemy and that in the end he helped him save the world, yet we don't know his name…"

The water creature stared at him, then he looked down at the pavement; he knew his name, but how he was supposed to say it?

His eyes fell on something dark behind the man, which was cast by the soft light of the lamp on the ceiling; he pondered a little. Weren't humans calling that thing with the same name of the hedgehog?

Not knowing what else to do, he pointed it and waited. The human looked at it, then back to Chaos, catching the hint "Shadow? His name is Shadow?" He asked slightly unsure.

The water creature looked at him and found himself do something new; he slightly moved his head up and down. He stopped shortly and started thinking again. What was that? Where it came from? What was happening to him?

He had so many questions, yet he had no answer for them.

The human smiled and took a pen from a pocket on his white coat; after a quick scribble on the folder he looked back at him "Just Shadow or Shadow and something else?"

At that question, Chaos just stared, unable to answer; he knew him only by his name.

The man's smile faded, then he looked at Sonic "Do you think…? I've heard that Shadow is able to keep up with Sonic in every aspect."

The water beast looked at him; too bad that he didn't know that they were more looking alike than that. He saw the human look back at the folder and write something down on it "I just hope that 'the Hedgehog' is the right one." He said placing it back where it belonged to and leaving the room, softly closing the door behind him.

Chaos was left alone with the two hedgehogs and his swarming emotions; the room became almost silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the rain outside the window and the continuous beeping.

The water beast started to ease his mind a little, but unfortunately something in the back of it screamed at him to fully raise his guard; he instantly knew it. She was back, even if just on the outskirts of the city; he could feel the emeralds she had. And the worst thing was that she was pointing the one he had.

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Knuckles pointed something amongst the white clouds "Here it is." He shouted over the wind.

Jo nodded and started preparing the red Tornado for the landing "Is there any place where I could land?"

The echidna glanced back at him "Don't worry about the landing. Just fly over it and I'll glide down."

The human nodded and aborted the landing process; he took the radio and fidgeted a little with it.

"Rouge?"

There was almost a minute of silence and the plane was almost over the flying island "Rouge, can you hear me?"

A second later the radio gave off a few static noises _"I'm here."_

"Good. We're almost at Angel Island. After Knuckles leave the plane I'm going into radio silence. You perfectly know what I have to do next and this is necessary. We don't want GUN over my heels too, right?"

_"Right. Listen, is Knuckles still there?"_

Jo looked up at the Guardian and pocked him with the microphone on the leg; the echidna looked back and raised an eyebrow "Rouge wants to talk to you before you go down." He shouted.

Knuckles took the piece of the radio in his hand and pressed the little button on the side "Yes?"

_"Before you go down, Knuckles, tell me… How do we came up there? Besides Tails nobody knows how to fly a plane, and Jo will be occupied."_

"Don't worry, Rouge. I'll land the island on the same spot it crashed six months ago. It's near Tails' workshop so we will not have much problems for the transport."

The bat hummed for a second _"Have you a safe place where we can hide?"_

The Guardian looked at the flying land under the plane "Don't worry about it. I have something in mind, but for now I have to go. See you in a hour or so."

_"Ok. Be careful. I know how GUN is. They think to be above everything and everyone, and I don't like it."_

Knuckles chuckled lightly "Then we'll give them a lesson of humility. Over."

The echidna handed back the microphone and jumped down the red biplane, instantly starting gliding towards the Master Emerald shrine.

Jo smiled, turned off the radio and turned the plane in the direction of the capital, with the sole purpose to talk with the president about what was happening.

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Tails was flying as fast as his blue Tornado could offer him; he was in special mode, but even with that the max speed just reached mach one.

Rain started pouring down on him and he gritted his teeth; the wind had picked up and was making the biplane jump badly and very hard to control "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! We're almost there! Don't let me down now!"

The fox briefly looked at the console and fidgeted with a few buttons; after he did that, the plane smoothened a little its course, making its pilot sigh a little in relief. A few seconds later he looked at the patchwork he hastily did and nodded to himself; it was keeping up and hopefully it would keep up until he arrived to the city.

An hour later Tails squinted his eyes; in the distance, amongst the darkness produced by the storm and the rain, he could see the shape of a city. He smiled to himself and picked up the radio "Rouge? Are you there?"

_"Yes Tails. Are you there yet?"_

"Almost," He responded "I can see the city's shape. Have they said if Sonic and Shadow are still in that bank with Chaos or somewhere else?"

_"News reports that they are at the city's hospital and that Chaos is still with them, however the doctors keep the prognosis reserved."_

Tails lowered his eyes "So they are… in danger…?"

_"I don't know this, Tails. You should talk with a doctor for this. But knowing Sonic and Shadow to some extent I think that they are fighting hard for their own survival. Don't you think so?"_

The fox smiled slightly "You're right, Rouge. Sonic will never lose a fight. And I think that Shadow is like him. Anyway, have you got news from Knuckles and your friend?"

_"Yes, he called me when he was in sight of Angel Island. He said that after that call he was going to be on radio silence."_

"I understand. How do we plan on getting on the island and where do we will hide?"

_"Knuckles said that he was going to land it on the same spot where it crashed during the Chaos incident. For the hiding spot he said that he had something in mind, but other than that nothing."_

"I think that he was being cautious. GUN may be eavesdropping on us…"

_"You're right, kid. And we should do the same, but we're lacking the equipment…"_

The fox hummed, thinking at something that just popped in his head.

_"What are you thinking about?"_

"Nothing at all. We'll talk later, I'm over the city's outskirts and I can faintly see the hospital."

_"Ok. Be very careful, Tails. GUN may be around there."_

"I know. But I think that between Chaos and me everything is going to be under control. Over."

The fox turned off the radio and squinted his eyes; he reverted the plane back to normal mode and landed in the parking lot, which was empty and long enough to permit a landing. After Tails made sure that the Tornado was prepared to be ready for an emergency take off, he took a big sheet of nylon and covered the two seats, protecting the instruments from an annoying rain.

The vulpine jumped down and stared a little, then he nodded to himself as he saw that the wind wasn't taking the nylon away; he spun around and ran to the main entrance of the hospital.

When he reached it, he was surrounded by reporters that asked him every sort of question. The poor fox panicked a little and stared up at all the humans; a second later his face went from scared to a mixture of anger and annoyance "Let me through!" He yelled.

Everyone stopped what was doing and looked at him shocked; the fox jumped over their heads and started twirling his tails, taking flight. He quickly surpassed the mob and landed in front of the door, opening it and hastily stepping inside, away from all the reporters.

Tails looked around and spotted a doctor that was quickly walking to him; he started walking up to him and the two meet halfway "Miles Tails Prower, I presume."

The fox nodded once "Where are they? And most important, how are they?"

The human motioned for him to follow him "Well," He started walking towards an elevator "I'm very preoccupied. They are in bad conditions…"

The man pressed a button and a second later the door opened; the two entered into the elevator, talking about the two hedgehogs' conditions.

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Whew! This was a long and hard chapter to write, but in the end I finally completed it. Until next!

**And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…**

Az


	20. Tails' Predicament

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

Chaos Flower: I think that Chaos was just tired after the huge amount of Chaos Energy used to bring Sonic back. For that update thing you ask, well… let us see each other on msn so I can answer all your questions.

Shadow Of Oblivion: Well, thanks for the compliments and I dearly hope to not disappoint you in the future.

Shadowkyzr (x2): Here's the next chapter! YAY!

RichaCo: Well, humans do what they can do. But since those are medics, Sonic and Shadow are safe. And here's the answer to your wondering about Knuckles.

Firehedgehog: Hey! Here's the long awaited 20th chapter! YAY!

Chibi Yoshi: Normal people are too scared to try to arrest him, that's why he can run around freely.

Dragon Master Naya: Yeah, that is true.

Knux: No problem with that. I'm happy to just know that you're reading my fic.

Aless (x3): Well… I can't say that Chaos is gonna have time to lay back. He'll be busy. And when I say busy, it is busy.

Sonicx667: I'd like to do that, really.

Ngrey651: With this fic Chaos became one of my favored characters too. I'm happy at how he came out.

Liebchen: I'm sorry, but I assure you that I never stopped thinking about this fic.

Tarem: I'm happy to see that my work inspired someone

Authoress' Note: Well, people. I'm really, _really_ sorry for this delay, but I really had a nasty period (in the end I got even fired from work) and a hell of Writer's Block caused by the stress. Sorry again.

Authoress' Note2: Guys and gals, I'm really, really happy. With chapter 19 I scored 16 reviews and this makes me really happy. Happy because when I started writing I never would have imagined to reach this success. Happy because even if I took all this time to upload this chapter I know that you are all there (weapons included) waiting for the update. Happy because I reached a good writing style that I never imagined to reach. Happy because I love this fic. Happy just because today I feel happy.  
Anyway, now I'll stop babbling and ranting about how happy I am and I'll let you go on with the chapter. Enjoy.

Authoress' Note3: I have to thank Firehedgehog and Gryph as they helped me a lot through this chapter. They gave me ideas and info. Thanks a lot!

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CHAPTER TWENTY

Tails' Predicament

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The BioLizard was on top of a hill, looking at the city and not bothered at all by the ongoing storm. She could feel the emerald and she knew that the water one was holding it; hopefully, once found, she would also find the two hedgehogs.

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When she opened her eyes, she saw just green; there were also some darker shapes, but other than that it was just plain dull green. 

If to see was something almost impossible to do, she could hear perfectly. All sort of noises that were new for her.

She tried to move, but she could just twitch a few muscles here and there on her body. The rest was just plain unresponsive.

Time passed with her just looking at the shapes and listening to the strange sounds coming from outside; in that time she also felt her little green world shrink around her little by little.

More time passed and finally her world started to crush her; a shape loomed over her and wiped the round edge.

"We should really change this tank… the prototype has grown too much…"

The noise sounded distant and muffled, yet it was right there. She knew it.

There was another noise, but it was too far away to be clearly comprehensible.

A click sound and her world fell apart. She closed her eyes as warm was replaced by cold, security by insecurity and more importantly, she found that she couldn't breath at all and that her body was being crushed under its own weight.

"It seems that she's even too weak to survive out of the stasis tank…"

The sound now was strong and clear, so she opened her eyes to see where it came from; what she got was a world full of colors, lights and shadows. She tried to raise her long neck, but she just managed to move it a little.

Something big and bright colored stood over her "Poor thing… I feel bad… the results were wrong and I ended up creating a creature too weak to even live normally…"

Another creature, like the one that was in front of her, come into her visual field "Professor? The S0-1 and the S0-2 are ready to be taken out of the gestation chambers."

The first creature, the one with long flexible things over his mouth, sighed deeply before moving its head up and down once "Ok, help me with her, then we'll take S0-1 and S0-2 out for the first tests."

Considering that she was long as half the creatures were, it took both of them to lift her up and take her around the place.

"It's… it's heavy…" The second one wheezed as she was placed on something shiny and cold.

A hissing sound reached her hidden ears and a few seconds later a smaller creature was in front of her face with curios eyes.

"Grampa? Why she's not moving at all?"

The one with the flexible appendage over the mouth looked at the smaller one "Well, Maria. She can't move because she has no strength at all…"

The little creature looked at her with sadness in the eyes until another hissing sound resounded in the environment. Moments later a fourth creature was over her.

"Is this… the new specimen?" It asked examining her with uncaring eyes.

"Oh, no. This is the prototype, we had to take her out of the stasis tank because she became too big for it. The new specimens are this way."

The creatures walked away, only the smaller one remained looking at her with sad eyes "It must be really unpleasant to not be able to move, right?"

Suddenly the tall creatures started to fuss over something and the little one was sent away; after some seconds the one with the flexible appendages over the mouth walked to a table next to hers and placed something on it.

She felt a strange feeling on her body and she was drawn to that something; in that moment she knew that she _needed_ to know what the tall creatures were looking at. With a newfound strength she used her hind paws and helped herself to raise her neck.

She looked closely and saw something small, defenseless and almost unmoving; she was puzzled, something in them was making her feel better. Also, her attention was so focused on the new creatures that she barely noticed the tall ones were looking at her with amazement in their eyes.  
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With a low grunt she started descending the hill, settled on getting at least the emerald.

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The twin tailed fox walked into the white corridor with the doctor he had met at the entrance at his side; his shoes making a soft 'tap tap' on the beige linoleum.

"So… Sonic has few possibilities to…"

Tails was unable to go on with his sentence, unable to think that his best friend could even die in a moment or two.

"I'm afraid that his conditions are really bad. Very few people have survived something like this, and if he doesn't get better on his own we might need to operate him. And that is… risky…"

Tails' ears drastically dropped down and he looked down at the floor, almost stopping "There's… no other way?"

There was a pause of several seconds before the human sighed deeply "We already did all we could do to lower the pressure…"

The two came to a door and the fox waited as the human slowly opened it revealing the inside.

He stepped in and he just stared, listening to the continual bips produced by the two machines near the beds; something azure near the window moved and caught his eyes.

He looked at it and gulped a little, feeling uneasy "Chaos…" He whispered.

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Chaos walked to the window, examining the outside; he had been in a city before, but his mind was so full of hate and sorrow that he never noticed how it was.

Tall and dark buildings stood high in the stormy sky with their own light coming from their inside; it was interesting at how they could stand against a storm this strong so well.

A small click coming from the door made him turn around and slightly raise his guard; who was coming? An enemy or a friend?

He let his guard down a little as he saw the same human that he communicated with and a small innocent looking fox just in front of him; his arms lowered and relaxed. He had already seen that fox somewhere.

"Chaos…" The young vulpine whispered with uneasiness in his voice.

The water creature bent his head a little to the side and when he saw two bushy tails nervously wave behind the fox, he immediately understood who he was.

It was the same boy that was usually at Sonic's side.

Chaos felt relieved; finally someone could help him in protecting the two hedgehogs. He looked into the young fox's eyes for a second, then he diverted his gaze on the beds.

Tails followed his motion with his own eyes, then jumped as a soft click broke the unnerving silence. The fox turned around and found that the doctor had left and closed the door behind him; now he was alone in a hospital room with the same water beast that wanted to destroy the world and with two hedgehogs in coma.

The fox looked again at Chaos, who was slowly advancing on him; he instinctively started taking a steep backward every one the water creature took. When he thought that he was going to bump on the door with his back, Tails saw the other creature stop and look at Shadow as he started murmuring something in his sleep.

The water beast instantly forgot about the fox and walked next to the black hedgehog, trying to figure out what he was mumbling about.

Could he possibly trying to tell him something? Maybe something about the other hedgehog? After all, before he told him that Sonic could still be revived despite the fact that he had no Chaos Energy left.

Moments passed in uneasy silence, then the black hedgehog just went back to a quiet sleep.

The water creature relaxed; as long as Shadow was quiet, the other hedgehog was ok.

Tails stared at him in bewilderment; he knew that Chaos was protecting them. Knuckles had told him so; he expected to receive a suspicious glare from him, but instead he found himself to be ignored as soon as he heard the black hedgehog's mumble.

This proved that he wasn't only trying to protect them, but that there was something else between him and those two; something that he knew Chaos would never be able to share with anyone else like that.

The fox slowly started walking near Sonic's bed, trying to not look suspicious and avoiding making Chaos mistake an action for another.

The water creature turned around and looked at the vulpine as he slowly advanced, cautious and slightly unsure on how to behave in front of him.

Finally, Tails was able to reach the bed of his acquired big brother; slowly, so not to disturb him or bring him pain, he sat on it and stared. Some seconds later he took the hedgehog's gloveless hand in his and started fidgeting with it; even if it was warm, it was somewhat deprived of life and never responded to the stimulation given by him.

The fox couldn't believe his eyes; Sonic, the same hedgehog who used to be full of life, was now laying before him in the brink of death. A lump formed in his throat and tears started falling down his eyes; it was heartbreaking to see him like that.

He hunched over, sobbing quietly "It's not true… It's not true…" He stopped to take a shaky breath, "Sonic… Sonic is not like this! He's… He's lively! Not a… a…"

He never brought his sentence to an end as he collapsed on the soft surface, holding his best friend's hand and crying uncontrollably into the mattress.

A presence loomed over him and he slowly looked at his side; Chaos was there, confusion and a little of concern in his eyes.

"Please… please, tell me that this is not Sonic. It can't be Sonic."

Unfortunately, deep down he knew that it was him.

Chaos watched as the distraught fox buried his head back into the soft and white surface of the bed; now, how he was supposed to act? The lizard was coming, he could feel the emerald within her get nearer by each passing second, but the fox needed time to get together to help him.

Seeing that the little vulpine wasn't making any progress, he placed his hand on his head; hoping that the same gesture used with a crying chao could comfort him. The fox slowly looked up at him and sniffled a couple of times; as soon as the water creature noticed that he had stopped crying, he motioned with his head the door.

They needed to go, and time was short.

Tails slowly shifted his gaze to the door, and after a second he wanted to slap himself hard for forgetting about his mission; Sonic and Shadow were not safe here.

The fox sat up again and rubbed away his tears with his right glove; after taking another shaky breath he jumped down from the bed and walked out of the room. In the corridor he looked back and forth for the same doctor he had talked before; he found him talking with a nurse near the stairs. He approached him and called his attention by faking a cough.

The human stopped talking with the woman and looked down at him "Yes?"

"I need to speak with someone in charge."

"I'm the floor manager."

"Good," The fox said nodding once, "I need to speak to you of something really important."

The man raised an eyebrow, but quickly dismissed the nurse and followed the vulpine back in the room; he closed the door behind his back and watched as Tails went to the window. Chaos was still at Shadow's side.

"Neither Sonic nor Shadow are safe here. I have to take them somewhere else. But I'm unsure how to do it and if it'll imply problems for them." He said turning and looking at both hedgehogs.

The doctor walked at the foot of the bed where the blue hedgehog was laying and placed his hands on the metal bar "Shadow could be transferred without many problems, but I'm worried about Sonic. At the moment his conditions are stable, but he could take a turn for the worst at any moment. This means that he need to be continuously monitored and treated properly."

"I… I know… but remaining here will be dangerous for them… and for the world."

The human sighed lightly, he didn't like this, but if the fox was right he needed to take action as soon as possible "Well, I'll talk with the principals and see what could be done."

Tails looked at him with a smile "Thanks, doctor."

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Knuckles landed in front of the steps of the Master Emerald's altar and sighed with relief; the big gem was still there in all its glory. He walked up the steps of the shrine and stopped in front of the green emerald; sighing a little again, he placed his right hand on it and started thinking at where he needed to go.

'Please… I beg of you, take me there.' He closed his eyes, "Take me to the bay near Tails' workshop." He finally whispered.

The Master Emerald shone brightly for a second, then the island started moving towards the bay. The Guardian smiled; in one or two hours the island would reach it.

He walked away from the huge gem and sat on the stairs, relaxing a bit; he looked up and through some of the higher clouds, he managed to see the morning sky. For no apparent reason he started thinking about his life.

He couldn't remember who were his parents and how he ended up alone, but he vaguely remembered that at first he was kind of scared; after that, life went on. Day in, day out… always the same old thing repeated endlessly.

He would take strolls around the island to see if there were intruders, but thanks to the course that the flying land was following, nobody knew about it, and in consequence nobody came…

That is… until that day of one year and half ago…

A fateful day for the echidna; his life immediately changed from day to day, events out of his grasp pulled him into more events without a way out for him to reach that solitude he was so used to.

At first he hated it. Hated the fact that a single blue hedgehog could do all that. Hated the fact that he was starting to envy him for that freedom he had. Yet, after almost two years, he was fond of him.

Knuckles closed his eyes, a small smile on his lips; so much misunderstanding was between them that they almost killed each other. But finally, after the Chaos incident everything was cleared out.

The Guardian stood up and sighed absentmindedly; he had changed, and all thanks to that blue hedgehog 'What is your secret, Sonic? How is it possible that you made me change so much in just two years?'

He opened his eyes and looked at the horizon; he could see a thin gray line that marked land and hoped that Rouge and the other were ready when he arrived there.

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Rouge looked out of the window with a powerful binocular provided by Tails' storage room; besides the black clouds she couldn't see anything else. She sighed and lowered the object from her eyes 'Angel Island is probably amongst the clouds…'

Amy walked in the room with a brown bag "Rouge, there's not much in the cabinet. Just a few rolls of bandages, a bottle of antiseptic and one box of painkillers…"

The bat turned around and looked at her with a slightly worried face "That could pose a problem. I just hope that they are not that injured. News just said that they were taken away with ambulances…"

The pink hedgehog smiled "I'm sure that they are ok. Especially Sonic."

Rouge sighed "I hope so, Amy. I hope so."

"So, Rouge. After we're all on Angel Island, what we're going to do?"

The bat returned looking out of the window with the aid of the binocular "We'll wait for Sonic and Shadow to heal completely, then we will discuss on what course of action we will take against GUN, Eggman and the BioLizard."

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Tails entered in a room with a table and eight doctors sitting around it; he walked up to the long desk and placed his palms on the wooden surface. A look of pure determination in his eyes.

The floor manager had said that he had called all the responsible of the hospital, and that they were discussing over his request. However, that was almost half an hour ago and he didn't had all that time…

So, now here he was, right in front of the higher members, trying to find words that could convince them that the hedgehogs needed to be moved as soon as possible without giving away what was happening in the world.

No need to cause panic…

"Please, listen to me. Even if Sonic and Shadow are badly injured it is extremely important to let me take them somewhere else."

A brown haired woman adjusted her glasses "Listen young fox, there's no better place for them to stay. Here, they are safe and have the needed medical attention. If we move them we might loose them." She said sternly.

The fox sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head "I'm not sure if I can say what's going on…" He opened his eyes and looked at her "But I do know that this place is not safe at all."

"Why would be that?" A male with black hair and eyes asked crossing his arms.

"I suppose that all of you know Dr. Eggman, right? Well, know this. This time he is only one of our problems. If Sonic and Shadow are going to stay here, not only their lives are in danger, but also with their presence here they will endanger all the other people."

Tails closed his eyes again and sighed deeply, asking himself why he was there, arguing with humans that didn't know anything about what was going on, and not planning for a way to take them outside the hospital without the needed permission.

Maybe it was because if he did that he would not only drag another side into play, but also because he wasn't a medic and a wrong movement could compromise both hedgehogs' health.

He stood up from the table and started pacing back and forth with his left hand on his hip and the right one rubbing his eyes "Listen, I know that moving them is really risky, but like I said before, this place is not safe for them."

"We will ask the police department to send guards for them, but we can't afford a transfer. Not with them in that status." Another female doctor chimed in, "Besides, there's that… that… that water thing in there. Only a fool would try something with _it_ in there."

Tails found himself growling under his breath, a little angry at how she talked about Chaos. But that was normal; besides him and his friends that were involved in the incident six months ago, nobody would truly understand why the water being acted like that.

He shook his head again and sighed to keep his control; this was not the good moment to get angry. He looked back up at the eight humans "Chaos will not be able to protect them from now on. Not without…"

He was interrupted by a scream and a crash; he turned his head to the door and in a sudden realization he ran out of it.

He quickly reached the room of the two hedgehogs and had a shiver after seeing that the wooden door was broken and a man in a white coat was laying near the opposite wall; Chaos was standing in the doorway with eyes narrowed.

The group of doctors that where in the meeting room talking with him reached the corridor and stared deep in shock; after some seconds, the young vulpine turned around "It is in the best interest of everyone to let me take away both hedgehogs. Trust me."

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It had been almost an hour and half, and finally Angel Island was in the process of landing; the huge floating land slowly nestled itself in the bay near Tails' workshop without causing havoc at all.

Some minutes later a red dot started gliding from the edge of the island towards the small house on the hill with haste.

Knuckles managed to land near the porch and walked up to the door; he knocked on it and after some seconds of waiting a white bat opened it "Welcome back, Knuckles." She said smiling.

The Guardian smiled back with a hint of red in his cheeks "C'mon," He said stepping into the house, "We better move."

Rouge nodded and preceded him into the hangar, where some bags were lying on the ground with Amy checking their contents to make sure everything was ok. The hedgehog looked up and smiled upon seeing the red echidna "Hi Knuckles!" She exclaimed in her usual cheery voice.

She stood up and looked at the bat "I've packed all the essential. Even some food for emergencies."

"Very well," Rouge responded nodding, "Let's go."

Knuckles took a backpack and whore it on his back, then he used his two hands to take two more; the bat and the hedgehog took the last two.

The echidna looked at them and nodded "I'll lead you to the place, then me and Rouge will come back for Tails and the others."

Even Amy had to nod in approval at those words; Knuckles sounded so authoritarian in that moment that she couldn't disobey him…

The trio hastily walked out of the workshop and made their way to a small cave that had formed after the last crash; they walked into it and the pink hedgehog started whining about the lack of light.

Since Rouge was a bat and Knuckles was used to it, Amy was the only one that had problems in the cave; she often tripped or bumped on something, stirring up more whining.

When they were halfway up, the female treasure hunter stopped and sighed audibly "Amy, I know that you can't see much in here, but _please_, stop whining!"

The pink hedgehog mumbled out a sorry and resumed walking up the cave, hoping that the dark cavern would end soon.

Finally, after ten minutes of careful navigation, the three came out of the dark cavern and squeezed their eyes for the sudden excessive light.

Knuckles pointed to the mountain that rose right in the center of the island "That mountain contains an intricate labyrinth of caves. It's really easy to get lost."

Rouge smiled "Good idea, Knuckles. Good idea."

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Tails sighed for the nth time in five minutes; the doctors had agreed pretty fast after Chaos put out of commission the disguised GUN agent that was trying to take the hedgehogs away, but they were taking extra time on organizing the transfer. And this was not good.

Time was against him and his friends and, thought he perfectly knew what could happen, he never dared to think what would have happened after the time at their disposal expired.

With a shiver of uneasiness, he resumed what he was doing before he stopped to think; pacing. He twitched his tails nervously and glanced back at the water creature that was still at Shadow's side; inwardly, he wished he could be as calm as Chaos was.

He sighed once more; the waiting was so enervating that he almost went crazy. He brought his right hand over his head and lightly scratched it near his ear 'Damn… they are slow… too slow!'

Suddenly, his ears twitched; there was a strange hissing sound that came from outside the window. Without thinking too much at what was making that sound, he turned around and froze instantly.

A lightning crossed the gloomy sky, reflecting off the shiny surface of their metal bodies; two pairs of red eyes were fixated on the room, indifferent of the pounding rain.

Chaos sensed the fox's fear and looked at him, then he glanced where his azure eyes were looking at; on the other side of the glass surface there was something.

The water beast was unable to examine them that the whole wall blew away with a loud bang; debris the size of a head flew everywhere and Chaos had to take Shadow in his arms, swirl around, go to Sonic and protect the both of them from the menace.

Tails, instead, as soon as he saw the wall fly towards him, he just curled into a little ball on the ground and dearly hoped that nothing would hit him; luckily for him, only the smaller pieces hit him, and he wasn't hurt at all.

However, when he looked at the new hole, he dearly wanted to be unconscious; the most feared robot, the only one that could compare his best friend, was there, standing just a few feet away from him with a perfect copy behind it.

The two robots, however, weren't focusing their attention on the small fox, but on Chaos and the hedgehogs he was protecting so hard.

The water creature stood back up from his hunched position and turned around to face the new enemies; his eyes narrowed.

He didn't like them for anything.

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And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	21. Master Of Chaos, Keeper Of Order

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

Firehedgehog: Well, thanks again for the support given to me in chat

N. Harmonik: Hey, a new reviewer! I'm always happy to se new people here!

Tarem: You make me happy with those words. Thanks!

Chaos Flower: Thanks, and sorry for that looong delay. Anyway, hope this is soon enough

Aless: Well, Chaos and BioLizard will probably have another fight, but I don't know when.

NamelessMoonshine: Yay! She lives! She lives! It's been quite a time since I last heard from you.

Anyway, I know how you feel in this period… I passed through it too, only that I never truly cared about studying… I'm such a lazy girl…

RichaCo: You don't even know half of it, so read on to find what happen in that city.

Authoress' Note: Ok, this is a rather short chapter, but I got to a point where I couldn't go on anymore for this piece. Hopefully next will come up faster than it happens lately.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Master Of Chaos, Keeper Of Order

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After countless tunnels and turns, the trio finally reached a small rocky chamber inside the mountain; it was a somewhat roundish room, fifteen feet for fifteen and six feet tall with various old pipes running in the far end wall. Two of them, adjacent to each other and at least two feet wide, were laying on the floor near the left wall, and upon them a bed made of straw and a thick and worn out brown blanket. The room was properly lit up by some small crystals, scattered on the ceiling, that gave off a soft azure light.

The bat entered in the room and, instantly noticing the warmth, she turned to the echidna with a plain question featured on her face.

The Guardian placed the two bags that was carrying on the floor near the right wall and pointed the pipes "There's really hot water running in those pipes. It warms the room, and don't ask me why there's no humidity in here, because I don't know it myself. Maybe it's because we're near the island's core, which is full of lava."

Amy stared disbelieved at the red male "Wait! You're _saying_ that we're in a _volcano_?!?"

Knuckles shook his head "Not really. It is more like a mountain filled with dormant lava."

Rouge put the bag she was carrying near the other two and walked to the pipes; placing a hand on one of them, she noticed that they were hot, but it was bearable and inviting. She turned around and walked to the makeshift bed; it was large enough to hold two of them.

The pink hedgehog almost threw her bag on the others and went to sit on the bed; it was soft and the fact that it was placed on two pipes granted it a very comfortable warmth.

Suddenly, Knuckles straightened up and a second later he clenched his fists; his eyes narrowed at a point that they seemed to be just two fissures in his head and an angry snarl escaped his clenched teeth.

The female treasure hunter looked at him "What's up?" She asked in a confused tone.

The echidna turned around and started running out of the small room; before disappearing into the darkness he glanced back at the bat "The Master is in danger!"

Rouge looked at Amy "Stay here." She commanded, then she ran away without waiting for an answer.

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The presence of the two Metals made the air still and extremely heavy, like something was going to explode soon. To say that the tension in the room reached the stars, was saying little…

Chaos had every ounce of his attention on the two robots; he knew that as soon as something suspicious moved, hell was going to break loose.

In the corner of his vision, he saw the small orange fox immobile; he was stuck with pure fear. He could feel it radiating from his young mind like if it was a thick wave of water.

The water beast's eyes narrowed by a fraction; not even he had managed to bring all this fear on the fox, so this meant that these two metal beings were serious business. Probably more than him.

He returned his mind on studying the two new threats; although metallic, they were shaped like the two hedgehogs and possessed what seemed an appearance of strength about them. Chaos looked in the red eyes of the blue one, and even if for just a little moment, he feared.

Even if those eyes were artificial, he could feel a strong and dark will coming from them, and they would never stop until they achieved their goal; that is why he felt scared. He knew, in a remote part of his mind, that if he failed, the two hedgehogs would be lost forever, and with them the safety and the peace of the world.

The one reminding him of Sonic slowly took a step forwards, leaving his black double behind "Chaos, you may be strong, but you're no match for us. Step aside and let us 'take care' of the hedgehogs."

Through his fear ridden mind, Tails felt shocked. Metal Sonic had something different about him, and it certainly was not what he said…

After a moment of thought, the fox realized that it had been how he said it; even if the voice was still robotic, it was no more flat and monotonous, but it held tone.

When he realized that, Tails felt doomed; how he was supposed to act now that Metal Sonic had real intelligence in his head?

He slowly glanced at the water beast and noticed that he hadn't moved, and by the look that his slightly narrowed eyes gave, he wasn't going to move for all the gold in the world. Despite the deep fear, his young blue eyes started slowly looking around for a way out of the current situation; his eyes fell on the opening, and that was when he saw something shrouded in the stormy darkness that made him want to scream with all his lungs.

However, he only managed to emit a small whimpering noise; rushes of adrenaline were released in his system and a small part of his mind screamed for him to run away as fast as he could. Too bad that he was frozen on the spot with pure and deep fear…

The two robots turned around as the deadly scared whimper came from the fox and noticed that he wasn't looking at them, but at the opening; curious about what could make the young vulpine forget about them, they turned, and where threw on the ground by something big and brown.

When Chaos saw the BioLizard hurl her head through the hole made by the two metal beings, he found himself release a short sound filled with surprise; he was so focused on the two metallic hedgehogs, that he had totally forgotten about her.

However, he found that the BioLizard had chosen a good time to come into the scene as the two metal beings were now trapped under her jaw; a hiss later, Chaos remembered that the huge lizard was not here to help him, but to use the hedgehogs for her own purposes. Luckily, she was unable to reach them with her continuously moving jaws.

The water being looked around for the orange fox, and saw him pressing himself on the opposite wall with a extremely scared face in an attempt to get as far away as he could.

Chaos returned to face the two hedgehogs; even with all that was going on, they just slept, oblivious to whatever was happening around them. With a quick, yet careful yank, the blanket covering Sonic was taken away and used to wrap them into a secure and somewhat warm bundle.

He took the two in his hands and with a kick to the bed, he freed his way to the broken door; moving quickly, he transferred the bundle in his left arm and grabbed the terrified fox with his right hand, dragging him to his feet.

Tails was too focused on the BioLizard to notice that he was being dragged away; the fear that she instilled in him was too much for him to bear and think at the same time.

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##############################  
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a multitude of masses of colors swirling around and changing from one to another; they seemed far away, and at the same time, they seemed right in front of his nose. 

Sonic was feeling groggy but managed to move his eyes around; he knew the place. He had been here several times to collect the Chaos Emeralds in the past.

Moving was out of the question, for an unknown reason nothing in his body but his eyes could move; even breathing was very limited. However, despite the tiredness, his mind was somewhat awake and capable of reasoning.

'The Chaos Realm… why am I here? I never looked for the entrance… not in these days. Before the Chaos incident the emeralds reappeared on their own and never returned to this place…'

His green eyes examined every inch of that world 'Strange… I can't see anything more than the swirling colors… usually there are paths that lead either to an emerald or outside, but this time… there is nothing but a colored void…'

He tried once again to move, but it was like he was an iron statue; after countless attempts, realization finally settled in his mind. Unable to scream in frustration, he closed his eyes to block the ethereal light and let his mind wander in his memory to prevent going crazy.

However, as much as he tried, he simply found himself thinking back at his situation and how he ended up in it.

'If this goes on… I might go crazy… I need to find a way out…'

Before he could even start thinking a plan, a presence loomed over him; he opened his eyes and gazed at whatever the thing was.

It was human shaped and barely visible, but that was it. Not even a detail to tell him who the person was. The transparent figure raised a hand towards him, and in that instant, everything shifted to a dark place with a light over him and a humanly figure shrouded in darkness doing the same gesture of the ghostly one.

The moment lasted just a second, but it was enough to make the blue hedgehog want to scream and ran away as fast as he could. However, not being able to move, it took minutes to calm his racing mind before finally relaxing.

'I definitively want to get out of here ASAP.'  
##############################

##############################  
Shadow was heavily confused. A moment ago he was running down a corridor in the test area, and now he was just standing in front of a metal door. He looked around in the corridor to see that nobody was there; like before, the ARK was silent dead. 

He sighed and looked back at the door; something in his heart was telling him to go inside. He stepped back a few feet and examined it.

This was not like any other door as it was lacking the sensor that granted everyone to enter without punching a button or pulling a lever; instead, it had a small console on the right side and something that had a particular shape . Shadow remembered that it was used to scan someone's eyes.

He sighed; surely his eyes weren't in the database of the little machine and the metal door was too thick to kick down with physical strength alone. What he needed was someone that had access to the place or another way in.

He knew that the ARK in his mind was empty, and that left outside the option of someone that could help him get inside, voluntarily or not; his eyes scanned the corridor once again in hope to find or remember another way in.

That is when a grate in the metal wall caught his attention; he walked up to it and let out a thoughtful murmur. It was an air duct, and it was big enough to let his young body crawl in it.  
##############################

--------------------------------------

Knuckles ran up the steps of the altar and sighed upon seeing the Master Emerald still there; he walked in front of it and placed a hand on its green surface 'I'm here, tell me.'

Something crossed the mind of the echidna and he growled under his breath; he turned around and looked at the bat that was slowly making her way up the steps, as to not disturb him. His eyes narrowed at her presence; he still didn't trust her when near the Master. The only ones that could stay near it without him getting nervous were Sonic and Tails, but he would never admit it to anyone…

Rouge stopped at the end of the steps and looked at the Guardian "I see that the Master Emerald is still safe."

Knuckles briefly glanced behind his back "Yes. But GUN is coming this way for it."

"How many?"

The echidna shrugged "A few humans and at least a dozen of robots. You know, the ones with the red shield."

The female treasure hunter made her way in front of the emerald and stared into its depths, ignoring the warning grunt from the male "So they're here for this lovely jewel… I wonder why…"

After some more seconds of staring, she turned around and faced the echidna "Say, Knuckles. Back on ARK you told us that the Master Emerald can 'counterattack' the Chaos Emeralds, right?"

The Guardian's gaze turned from wary to slightly confused "Yes. It can stop the Chaos Energy's flow. Back on ARK I asked it to stop the link between the Chaos Emeralds and the BioLizard."

Rouge paled slightly, and prayed that what she was thinking was just a stupid and impossible idea "Knuckles, if the Master Emerald can stop so easily the Chaos Emeralds, and considering that Shadow was created using them… what could happen if the Master was used on him?"

Knuckles looked at the green gem "Depends on how much he's tuned with Chaos Energy… in the worst case it could kill him instantly…"

The bat looked away from both emerald and echidna "What… what about Sonic?"

"Regardless of the way he's linked to Shadow, he _is_ like him in every way and will suffer the same fate as him. But it's not only that, if triggered wrongly the balance of nature could be destroyed…"

Rouge's eyes widened and her mouth hung slightly open; now she would never try to steal it again, not even under the order of the president himself…

--------------------------------------

Tails' legs slowly started working as the water creature dragged him down the corridor and as far away as possible from that room; soon he was able to run on his own and he felt Chaos letting him free from his grasp, using the now free arm to hold the important bundle he was carrying.

Finally, after interminable minutes of running, Chaos slowed down and stopped; he looked down at the hedgehogs. He could leave them with the fox and go back to the island, but whenever he thought about it he just felt that he couldn't do it. Why they were so important to him? After all he knew Sonic just because in the past he was his enemy and he knew Shadow just to be a hedgehog like the blue one. Not a good excuse to be so attached to them…

"We should get out of here as soon as possible. The BioLizard can't come in, but those two robots can easily catch up with us…"

Chaos looked down at the orange vulpine at his side; he was shaking and his ears were flat against his head. A clear sign of fear. Yet, the water one noticed that the fox was keeping it at bay with an amusing strength of heart.

Tails looked into the green eyes of Chaos, then he shifted his gaze on Sonic's emotionless face "He would never be scared in these situations… he very rarely get scared… not even in front of the BioLizard he got scared… that is why I…"

The water creature looked between the young fox and the blue hedgehog; how could a lone hedgehog…?

"I know what you're thinking…" The small fox interrupted him, "How could he do all of this single handedly? I really don't know how, but Sonic is special. Not just because he is strong, fast, smart and can use the Chaos Emeralds, but there's something in him that gives you what you need the most. In my case it's courage and self confidence. Once you know him, you can't leave his side. At least I feel this way. Maybe Knuckles too…"

Tails started walking again, followed by the azure creature, down the corridor "And I think that Shadow feel it too, maybe even more than us all put together. That is why he is still around Sonic and has changed so much in so little time. I'm sure of it."

Chaos looked down at Sonic; thanks to the young fox, now he had understood what was happening to him a little more, and maybe he could find out what it was. However, a loud crash and a scream coming from one of the corridors behind them, made the unusual duo remember that they were in the middle of a chase and that they were the ones that were hunted.

--------------------------------------

Wew… Finally done… how much it has passed since my last update? A month? Maybe two? I'm really sorry people!

And remember! Reviews are always welcomed! They keep me into the go. Without them I usually slack off…

Az


	22. Distant Memories

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Dragon Master Naya:** That was Metal Shadow.

**Dark Shadow:** Weeeee! A new reviewer! Welcome! Anyway, there's nothing wrong neither in my fic nor in my life. Just a bit of laziness and work.

**Firehedgehog:** Don't worry. I myself have a crazy schedule, but I really like it (I sleep till 10.30 and I have the night free).

**NamelessMoonshine:** Becomes all red like a tomato Thanks

**Shadow Of Oblivion:** Thanks for understanding! And a wooden spoon will do nothing against my wooden stick. Muahahahaha! And don't worry about rambling on, I like when people ramble on about my fic.

**Tarem:** Umm… that dream… umm…. It could be only a dream… but you don't know me… yeah…

**Chaos Flower:** Well, I hope this is as soon as possible. Enjoy.

**Ryiun:** Well, well, well… what we have here? A new reviewer? Welcome! Welcome! Anyway, you better prepare that rusty paperclip because lately I take at least a month to update.

**RichaCo:** Well, that twist came from a dream I had, but what do you know? I'd like to hear it. And for those questions… umm… I can tell you that you'll find that out soon. Maybe sooner than I think.

**Aless:** The lava, I have to say, is far down that were she is right now. The warmth comes from pipes with hot water running in them.

**Freaky Person O.o:** Oe, oe. Calm down! Hehehehe, don't worry about it. I will write the LOYHAL sequel, but at the moment I'm trying to finish this. I discovered that I lost that initial push that let me write more than one fic at time, so… that is why I put JANL and Hidden on hold.

**The Ultimate Life Form:** And that was only one of the few long ones. From now on it'll be hard to see long chapters like that one.

**Authoress' Note:** Well, people. Sorry for the long waiting, but I really needed to get my mind off of everything. And that 2000 pieces puzzle helped it. Hope you like this chapter.

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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Distant Memories

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Amy was left in the small chamber alone; why everyone always left her behind? Was she just an annoying little girl who just got in the way of everyone?

Sulking, the pink hedgehog faced the room; she couldn't leave it or she would get lost in the maze-like caverns, so she might get into gear and make the place more comfortable and ready for any eventual emergency.

--------------------------------------

#############################  
Again…

That strange scene was replaying in his mind again and again, never truly stopping; maybe it was him that replayed it endlessly, but he was unsure of that, like the fact that he was literally unsure of how the hell he ended up in the Chaos Realm in the first place…

However, as much as he hated to admit it, he found that dream pretty interesting and, having nothing better to do, he ended up analyzing every aspect it held.

He was laying on something, perhaps a metal table since it was cold and hard, with a blinding white light hovering directly over him; then, there was this human, apparently male, clad like a surgeon, that raised a hand to reach him.

Sonic opened his eyes and gazed at all the colors that swirled in the distance 'Could be it… a memory?'

He sighed and closed his eyes again 'If only I could remember it all…'

There, again. The strange dream was playing in his mind one more time, only this time there was a beeping sound in the background. Probably some machinery that kept an 'eye' on his heartbeat rate.

"He's awake."

Blurry and dull. Those were the best words to describe the voice that had spoken right now.

Next thing he knew was that his lungs seemed to stop working on their own and a sharp, unbearable pain started pervading his body; only after what seemed an eternity he was jolted back to his current situation.

'Ok, no more freaking dreams. They are starting to get on my nerves."  
#############################

#############################  
Shadow turned a corner and his eyes adjusted to the new level of light that came from a grate right in front of him; he crawled to it and looked through the thick metal grill that separated him from the room.

From his point of view, he could see that it was a rather long laboratory filled with white metal tables lined on the wall under him and machinery on the other.

Unconsciously licking his lips, the small black hedgehog placed his right shoulder on the grate and started pushing; unfortunately, the metal obstacle was firmly fixed on its place.

Sighing in frustration, Shadow crawled on his back with his feet facing the grate and started kicking it "I'm starting to get really, really tired of this little game." He muttered angrily.

After three or four more kicks, the screws finally gave in and the grate fell to the ground with a clang that seemed far louder than a gunshot.

Cringing, he stood motionless in the duct till he was sure that nobody had heard the loud sound; several seconds passed in silence, but nobody came to see what had happened.

Shadow sighed and slowly crawled out of the narrow passage "Hmpf. Like there's someone in this deserted reconstruction…" He muttered finally setting his feet on the ground and turning around.

Suddenly the light in the lab dropped dramatically and everything appeared blurry and dark at his eyes, but most of all, his body started moving on its own; his mind, instead, had entered in a sort of trance. He was 'awake', yet his mind was extremely drowsy. Strange sensation indeed.

Not having anymore control of his younger body, the black hedgehog mentally sighed and let the events unfold.

'I must have triggered some memory. I just hope that this is the right one.'

He could feel himself walking along the line of tables, in search of something not quite clear to him yet, and stop in front of some papers, which appeared a little brighter than the rest of the room.

He picked them up and started to silently read them; although his conscious self only made out few words, he instantly knew that they were extremely important to him.

When his younger self was halfway through the documents, the haze over his mind temporarily lifted, and he was able to hear his own younger voice.

"Results on test with Toxin L75 on S-01 subject."

He could feel his eyes shift down some lines to read on.

"Subject has responded fairly good to the injection of the toxin. However the recover is not going according to previous expectation. Probably cause…" He trailed off as he set his eyes on the next line, "Weary from continual experimentation."

Now Shadow felt the blood of his young counterpart _freeze_ as his hands were reluctant on letting go the papers, or crush them for the matter; just what the hell those humans were doing to his brother?

Shaking his head a little, he rolled up the few papers and was going to turn towards the duct's direction when the door hissed so suddenly that Shadow felt himself jump on the spot and snap his head toward that direction. Ruby eyes locked on a pair of shining red orbs, which returned the an emotionless gaze.

Slowly, his eyes went to the duct; it was too distant to reach without getting caught by the foe, so he decided that it was best to try to confront it until he would find a good opportunity to disentangle himself from the mess he was in.

His left hand automatically tightened around the papers as he sprung into a sprint and passed the red eyes, bolting out into the corridor and running as fast as his still short legs could carry him without the aid of his special shoes.

From that point on, the memory got very blurred, and Shadow was barely able to understand what really was going on; he could feel himself turn around a lot of corners until he came to a complete stop several minutes later into what seemed to be the residential area.

After several moments of panting hidden behind a corner, Shadow leant back on the metal wall trying to calm his racing heart. He was so concentrated that he never noticed that someone was approaching him.

"Shadow?"

Albeit sweet and concerned, the voice didn't prevent him from getting another jump from his already racing body and mind.  
#############################

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Knuckles looked over the edge in front of the altar and narrowed his eyes; an instant later, three military double bladed helicopter arose from behind it and hovered around the altar. The sliding doors opened and from their metal bellies Hunter after Hunter descended down to the ground, encircling the shrine with their laser rifles at the ready.

The three helicopters slowly turned around and flew to a safety distance, leaving the island as calm as an oil ocean despite the situation.

From the mob of robots, a small squad of humans walked slightly crouching in front of the steps with their normal rifles clearly pointed on the heads of both bat and echidna; one of them, presumably the leader of the little expedition, stood fully erect and lowered his weapon.

"Surrender the Master Emerald and we will not hurt you." He commanded in an hollering voice.

If it wasn't for the situation they were in and for the serious character that he was, Rouge would have bet that the echidna would have exploded with laughs; instead, the Guardian just raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

The bat smirked and shook her head, then she faced the human that had spoke "Do you really think that he's gonna give you the emerald so easily?" She asked faking disbelief.

The female treasure hunter crossed her arms too, "You know what? Never mind. Get out of the island or you'll be painfully kicked out."

Knuckles glanced at the bat questioningly, who just smiled at him "Can't let something so powerful in wrong hands." She simply answered.

The echidna looked back at the mob of robots "Are you really willing to…"

"I'm not that naive, Knuckles. I know when something has to stay were it is. _Even_ if it is a huge and beautiful green emerald that I'd like to have for myself."

After a second a mischievous smile appeared on her lips "I guess that I'll just have to drop here often to get a good look at it."

'And at a certain Guardian too.' She added on her mind.

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The unlikely duo rounded a corner and nearly collided with the same doctor that the fox talked with earlier; after a few seconds of recollection, the man looked at Chaos "What's happening? Why you're moving them without permission?"

The fox quickly shook his head "Chaos had no other choice. For us this place has become too dangerous to stay any longer. We have to leave _now_."

The human looked at him in the eyes, then he turned around and ran down the same corridor from where he came "Ok, follow me. I'll lead you to the helicopter."

Tails grabbed him by the coat "No." He said sternly, "The Metals are too fast for a helicopter. They'll reach us in a matter of seconds and then we'll be defenseless."

The doctor stopped dead in his track and faced him "Then what you suggest?"

The young vulpine's tails twitched nervously as he started thinking of a safe way of escape "Chaos is stronger than the Metals, however, those two are faster. If only we could pass trough narrow spaces, Chaos would be greatly favored in a possible fight."

The water beast looked down at the fox and nodded; the kid seemed to know what he was doing and this was a good plan. The only problem was where they could find a place like that…

Chaos looked out of the window; they couldn't just walk out in the open ground like nothing was going on, besides, the rain had intensified again…

He found himself focusing his attention on the water on the streets below; if only he could just melt and follow the flow into the drain and the underground passageways, then back at the isl…

His eyes widened at the sudden realization and he turned around to face the young boy called Tails; now, how he was supposed to tell him that he had found a perfect way of escape?

The water beast tilted his head a little to the side; first of all he needed to bring his attention on himself… but how? Talking was out of the question since he could just emit resonances and bubbling sounds. Maybe touching him like he had done with the human?

Well, that was worth a try. He just hoped that the fox wouldn't react bad from it; after all, he could sense that he was still somewhat heavily shaken by the previous encounter with the huge lizard and the two lookalike of the hedgehogs.

Slowly, Chaos took his right arm away from the bundle and lightly poked the fox on his left shoulder once.

Tails, already on the edge of his nerves, jumped as he felt a finger on his shoulder; he turned around and sighed in relief as he saw that it was only his newest ally. He smiled apologetically and tried hard to calm his racing heart.

"Yes?" He asked with a slightly shaking voice.

As soon as the water creature knew that he had the fox attention, he turned to the window and looked down.

The fox walked to the window trying to not tremble more than he was doing in that moment; he couldn't bear another assault like the previous one or he would lose his sanity. He wondered how could Sonic go trough all this and never get scared.

Tails reached the window and looked outside, seeing nothing; after some seconds he felt a little more calm "I don't see anything, out there…"

In that moment, Chaos wished he had the gift of speech. He looked down at the fox at his side and then back at the street down, gurgling out something.

Tails watched closely at the outside surroundings, trying to understand exactly what the water creature was 'telling' him. The fact that he couldn't understand gurglings and bubblings was a mayor problem, especially when it was the only language that his ally could use besides a few gestures.

Chaos looked again at Tails, and decided that it was time to change his approach; he raised his right hand and grabbed the fox's right wrist, starting to gently tug him with him.

The young vulpine immediately understood "You know a safe way?" He asked almost jumping in excitement. The water creature's nod almost made him throw his hands up and jump in jubilation.

However, reality was far too dangerous to permit that, so he had to limit himself to a relieved and happy smile; quickly, he faced the human that was with him "Ok, Chaos has found a way, so that leave us with only one problem."

He took a breath and looked right in the eyes of the man, "And that is enough medical supplies for both Sonic and Shadow and their possessions."

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Short, but at least it's done and I have the right input for the next chapter. See you next.

Az


	23. Fight For The Master

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**- Firehedgehog:** Thanks, and hope to see you in MSN soon.  
- **NamelessMoonshine:** S-sama? Awww… now I'm happy. Don't worry about having missed it, and if you draw something, let me know.  
Btw hands NamelessMoonshine a cup with a 100 writing on it You're the 100th person who reviewed my fic.  
- **Shadow Of Oblivion:** "your stick may be match for the wooden spoon but...IS IT A MATCH FOR THE AMAZING RUSTY WOODEN SPOON!"  
… uh?  
Btw, it's not that I seek quantity over quality, but at some point of the fic I reached over 12 pages, and I kinda liked that. But, oh well, I guess that this will be my new standard.  
- **Shadowkyzr:** Sorry to have made you wait so much even for this chapter. Hope you enjoy it.  
- **RichaCo:** Actually, I'm not really sure what will happen with Knux, Rouge and the emerald. I have to see.  
For Sonic's dreams. They will be confusing for more than you think.  
Amy… Amy… Amy… at the moment I don't have much of a plot for her, that's why I write little about her parts.  
PS: Maybe, maybe not. Who knows… But there will be who can understand him.  
- **The Ultimate Life Form:** I read that too, but I assure you that I never intended to copy it. In fact, I started this at least three years ago.  
- **LisaTheHedgehog:** Hey, a new reviewer! It's always good to see new ones. Thanks, and sorry if I don't update so often in this period. Kinda lazy…  
- **Tarem:** Your curiosity will be paid off in few chapters, so stick around.  
- **Dragon Master Naya:** For the moment Metal Shadow limits himself on following Metal Sonic and aiding him.  
**- FriedBrickWall:** Here's more!  
**- Aless:** I know, I know. But soon it's gonna be something more like warrish. I hope.

**Authoress' Note:** Ugh… I forgot how to sleep…  
**Authoress' Note2:** Ok, for who is reading this, let me say this: I slightly have changed how I write, now it's more… 'emotional'. Hope you like it.  
**ANGRY Authoress' Note3:** Ok, I see that it doesn't accept some type of scripts (are they called that?) so now I have to cope with a single - for paragraph division and two °° for dream sequences.

-

Chapter 23

Fight For The Master

-

°°  
The black hedgehog turned around and smiled "Hi Maria."

The human girl, differently from all the other things that were dark and blurry, seemed to shine on her own; Shadow could easily remember every detail, like she was really there.

Maria smiled back, tilting her head to the side like always, "What are you doing here?"

Shadow felt his smile fade away quickly, "I found this, Maria. Maybe it can help in someway." He said handing her the rolled up papers.

The girl raised an eyebrow as she took them, "Did you got into another lab that you shouldn't have gone?"

The ebony one shook his head, "Just read. Please."

Maria sighed and finally unrolled the papers, reading them as quickly as she could; when she was done, Shadow could see that she had paled. She hastily rolled up them again and took his hand, tugging him along with her.

The black hedgehog eagerly agreed and started walking alongside his friend, "What we're going to do?"

The girl looked down at him and smiled reassuringly, "I'm going to show these to grandpa. He'll take action as soon as he see them."

Shadow's eyes softened with fear and he looked down at the ground, "And what if he doesn't?"

"He will." Maria firmly answered back, "But first, I'll drop you back to our apartment."

The black hedgehog sighed and walked with Maria in total silence; he was preoccupied at what could happen to them all. He couldn't bear to loose Maria and her grandfather, but most of all, he couldn't bear to lose his br…

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Maria, who had stopped in front of a metal door and was now crouching beside him.

Shadow bit his lip and stared at his feet, "Will everything be alright?"

The black hedgehog was pulled into a comforting hug by the girl, "Don't worry, Shadow. Whatever happens, in the end everything will be alright. I promise."  
°°

-

Tikal could sense it; the tension in the air was so thick that it could be easily cut with a knife. Yet, she could do nothing but look from her point of view located over the Master Emerald.

Knuckles and Rouge were relatively calm, but even them could feel the tension on their nerves; then, with a single word from the human leader, the battle for the possession of the huge stone began.

Every single hunter raised their rifle and shoot at their targets on top of the altar, missing clamorously as the two creatures were already running down the steps and into the fray.

The Guardian raised his fists and barreled right into the small group of humans, throwing them on the ground even before they could react properly with their slow reflexes. Not paying any attention to the rolling humans, the echidna stopped the time necessary to do a ninety degree turn and ran towards the nearest hunter, which was at his right.

The bat, instead, took the liberty to grab a few grenades from a nearby man, kicking him in the side to thank him, and then ran to the left, deciding to play happy bomber for once. She looked at the tools in her arms; she had five hand bombs and three that released shards and nails on explosion.

With an almost evil glint in her eyes, she picked up one of the special bombs and flew up, avoiding the laser shoots that came in her direction; when she was up enough and the robots switched target, she pulled the spline and let the weapon fall down, right into the mass of enemies. Quickly, she took refuge behind a pillar to avoid being hit by the debris.

The explosion shook the heart enough to make Knuckles look towards it; when he saw that mech parts were flying up into the air, he let a small smirk graze his lips. He had to admit it; Rouge was a wonderful ally.

He quickly returned to his fight as a Hunter tried to shoot him from behind; as soon as he heard the click of the weapon, he turned around, shoving the laser rifle to the side, letting the energy bullet hit another robot, destroying it instantly. With a well placed punch in the torso, the echidna produced a hole into his enemy and let it fall to the ground.

-

Tails was frantically walking back and fort in front of a door; his tails were stiff and the fur was on end, making them look at least two times larger than usual. Chaos, meanwhile, was just waiting patiently.

The fox finally stopped as the door opened and the human came out of it holding a dark blue rigid bag in his left hand, "Good." He muttered under his breath.

Tails picked in his right arm the bag handed by the man; even if it was fairly light, it was big enough to almost tough the ground. With a small smile he nodded to the doctor, then turned to Chaos, "We're set. Let's go."

The water creature nodded in understanding and followed the small fox to the same metal doors he saw the first time he set foot into the big and white building.

With a 'ting', the doors opened to reveal a familiar small room; Chaos followed his ally into it and watched as he pressed one of the lowest buttons on the control panel. After another 'ting', the doors closed and the room started descending earning him a small startled jump.

No matter how many times he would ride it, he would never get used to it…

Tails looked at him and smiled a little, "It's called elevator. It's a machine that takes you up and down the buildings that have over five floors so you wont tire doing stairs upon stairs." He explained as best as he could without falling into hard, and maybe unknown words to the ancient being.

The water creature tilted his head a little to the side; so that was why, when he had left the room, he found himself on a different place than when he had entered it. The room moved up and down, permitting people to move between floors without effort.

Humans were the weakest race of the planet, but they were the most numerous and inventive. Too bad that a good chunk of it was evil.

The elevator came to a stop, and after it released its personal sound, the doors opened revealing the ground floor.

Tails heaved the bag over his shoulder, being careful of its content, and walked onwards, right were the glass doors were positioned.

And luckily, all the reporters were gone; probably to see what that explosion was. He just hoped that they were smart enough to get the hell out of the place as soon as they saw what the problem was and not stop and film that big lizard just to get a prize.

'Yeah… a prize for stupidity…' He thought.

The small fox looked up at the water creature at his side, "Well then, Chaos. The way is free, lead it." He said motioning the doors.

Chaos nodded and glanced at the bundle in his arms; after reassuring himself that they were ok, the water beast quickly made his way to the entrance, and, after examining the outside surroundings, he passed through the mobile doors and ran towards the first manhole he could find.

There was a scream that resounded over the rain, followed by a small earthquake, which warned the two that the BioLizard was around.

With a quick thinking, Chaos grabbed the twin tailed fox by the free wrist and hid themselves behind an ambulance; that was when a huge tail poked from behind a corner of the hospital. The thing was swaying back and forth with such fervor that told the water creature that the monster was busy doing something.

Or better, was busy fighting those two metal beings of before.

Taking advantage of the situation, Chaos grabbed again the fox, tugging him out of his frozen state and hinting for him to follow his lead.

Tails, trying hard to not shake more than he was already, nodded his understanding and, after taking a big breath, he ran after the water being.

Chaos was running out of the hospital park, hoping to gain some extra time from the fight between the BioLizard and the other two creatures; however, he wasn't that lucky, and Metal Shadow, seeing them run away, warned his companion with a intercom message.

The two robots flew into the sky and, thanks to their infrared vision, easily located the fugitive group, flying after them.

The BioLizard, tilted her head in confusion at their sudden forfeit of the fight, but when she turned her head to see where they were headed for, she felt something that could be described as… 'gooseflesh'.

With a cry of outrage, the huge lizard turned around and ran after the two robots with the clear intention of squashing them to metal sheets.

Chaos was starting to get desperate as he took a quick turn and entered into a secondary street; he could feel that he was followed by the two metal creatures and, behind them, the BioLizard.

That was wonderful…

Stuck in a city, with pouring rain, a scared fox that somewhat kept up with him, two half dead hedgehogs in his arms, two metal beings and a huge lizard on his short tail and he could _not_ _find _a damned manhole to get away from the chaotic situation…

Just a wonderful day…

He wondered if things could get worse…

Never mind. They could.

The water creature felt like just going into a destructive spree as he saw several vehicles pull up from the end of the street they were trying to reach, and guess what? Yes… The GUN logo was pretty visible on the surface of said vehicles.

However, he could do nothing; not when he was carrying the two hedgehogs and had a small fox trailing him. That is why he decided to turn into the first hallway he could find on his right, hoping against everything to find what he was looking for.

Seeing no manhole and a dead end, Chaos started looking around for another way out, but no such luck; the alleyway was plain devoid of exit… minus one.

Which brought him to an only solution left for his current situation.

To backtrack.

Not a good option when you had two robots hell bent on killing, a behemoth with the looks of a lizard craving for Chaos Energy and a whole GUN department fixed on getting back something that they believed to be theirs.

It could have been rather funny to see that all those creatures out there wanted the same things; however, it was not funny when you where the only one standing between them and their objectives.

Chaos carefully peeked out of his temporary shelter and stared.

The GUN was on the same spot as before, not having moved from there because they were now staring at their direct opponent, the BioLizard, which had stopped right on the other end of the street; the two robots, instead, had taken an advantage point on the roof of one of the many buildings lining the way.

If it wasn't for the pattering of the rain, there would have been an uneasy dead silence…

-

Again, short, but at least it's done… right?

Az


	24. Dangerous Situations

Sonic, Shadow and co are © Sega; all the other characters are mine.

**Shadow Of Oblivion:** I was really, really happy when I got your review 'cause now I know that the personalities that Chaos and BioLizard are developing are good. Thanks!Anyway, that fic you're talking about, Hidden, is momentarily on hold until I get the will to go on. Actually, I'm planning to reedit the chapters and correct a few things, and maybe add something else to make the fic look better from the plot end. Also, I'm pleased that you like the wings thing.

**PhiloWorm:** There were other two people that said it, RichaCo and Dragon Master Naya.

**Daisuke's Shadow: **Normally, I would have killed whoever asked this since who actually read at least the first chapter would immediately know if this story is the sequel of Loyhal or not. However, lately I'm more relaxed and happy, so I'll just answer your question.No. It's not the sequel of Loyhal. Hope you enjoy this the same.For the sequel, I don't know when I will start it, but if you wanna read something from my hand, go to and look for a fic called "A matter of trust". It's under NamelessMoonshine's name since we write it together.

**RichaCo:** Do _you know_ that _I thought_ you _were DEAD?_ I was quite worried and I often came to ask myself "Where is RichaCo?"  
And yes, I like to do these things to them. MUAHAHAHAHAH.

**Authoress' Note:** I thanks all the others that have reviewed, I'm not thanking you all individually (unless there is a good reason) because you're so many that I'll eventually end up doing more pages of thanks than pages of fic, so, thanks to you all to stick with me and this fic. Thanks!

**Authoress' Note2:** I know you though I was dead, but I'm not. Sorry for the long delay, but lately real life really sucks…

* * *

Chapter 24

Dangerous Situations

* * *

By now, Knuckles had lost count of how many robots he had downed and how many remained standing; the time to count them was non-existent as the mechs had intensified the attack on him and Rouge.

He knew that all this was to lure him away from the altar, but he and his ally were _not_ going to fall for that. This made the small squadron of humans quite frustrated as either the Guardian or the ex spy successfully stopped every attempt of approach to the big emerald.

If the echidna was using all his strength to fend off the assault, Rouge was using every trick that she could think of to beat her enemies; this way, she was less tired than her companion was.

However, she was coming to a point that she had to actually fight with her strength; not that she really minded. After all, she would do everything in her power to protect the Master Emerald from GUN; especially after what she came to know from its Guardian.

The bat finally dropped to the ground and ran towards the first mech she saw, jumping in the air and delivering a strong round house kick to its head, making it fly away almost effortlessly.

At almost on the other side of the altar, Knuckles had to quickly sidestep to avoid a laser blast from a robot; he cursed under his breath and resumed fighting. He had been attracted by Rouge's drop to the ground and had followed her as she attacked with that kick of hers.

He had to admit it; she was skilled…

On the other side of the battlefield, behind one of the many big rocks, the small group of humans was observing the fight.

"Lieutenant, any idea on how to retrieve the emerald?" One of them asked peering at the big gem sitting on top of the altar.

The leader looked at the Master Emerald with an almost gloomy expression on his face, "The Guardian and his ally are protecting it pretty well. It could be hard to pass unobserved from this point. Even with the coverage provided by the mechs."

"What about passing from behind the altar?" One of his subordinates suggested.

The lieutenant looked at the small temple, "Hmm… it can be done…" He said as he retracted his head behind the rock, "Garrison, you're the best amongst us for this job. Take the harness and reach the emerald from behind the altar."

The man known as Garrison too the tool from the hands of his superior, then ran out of the hide keeping himself away from the view of his enemies.

It took him more than ten minutes to successfully reach the back of the altar; it had been tricky… the Guardian had eyes everywhere even if he was busy fighting. More than one time he had risked to be seen or had to wait for more than a minute before he could move again.

But all the effort he had put into his task had paid off as he was now looking up at the ancient structure's back; the bricks and stone slabs, being more than two thousands years old, presented wide cracks here and there.

Perfect footholds for a small climb.

He just hoped that they wouldn't give in under his weight…

Five minutes later, Garrison finally placed his hand on the top floor of the altar; the one in which rested the big emerald. With a final effort he dragged himself up enough to pop his head and see his objective.

The man remained there, awestruck by the green pulsing light that the Master gave off; it would have made him space out if it wasn't for a peach colored foot, wearing a simple sandal, that appeared in front of his eyes.

He looked up, confused, and was staring directly into the deep blue eyes of a echidna girl, apparently dressed in ancient costume; she was bending down too look at him and she had a sad expression on her cute face.

"Please, leave the Master Emerald alone. " She said bringing her hands together in front of her chest.

The man stared for a few seconds, then he snapped back to reality, climbing onto the ledge and standing up, "My orders are to take the Master Emerald into custody and bring it back to the base. Step aside or I'll have to take action."

The ancient spirit watched as the human in front of her placed his hand over the gun into its holster at his side, ready to draw it and aim; she shook her head and refused to move from where she was.

"What the hell Garrison is _doing_?" The lieutenant asked to himself poking his head out of his hiding spot, "I swear…"

It was in that right moment that a flash of white light coming from behind the emerald, and a scream, made him understand that the man that he sent to secretly retrieve the Master Emerald had failed.

He sighed and crouched back down, "Ok, plan C. Let's knock that big gem out of its pedestal and retrieve from where the hell it'll land on the land below this floating piece of earth."

"Sir, we'll be still on Angel Island even down there…" One of the men complained.

"I know, but at least we'll have more probabilities on retrieving it down there than staying here… The Guardian and his ally are doing an extremely good job on keeping the mechs at bay…"

His squad nodded, understanding perfectly and one of them produced a few hand bombs.

Knuckles was now having a rather easy time defeating the GUN robots; yes, he was somewhat tired from all the fighting, but there were also less mechs around to destroy.

Rouge, even if she had taken the fight from the sky back to the ground, was still using more her brain than simple brutal force like the echidna was doing, taking a pause every time she destroyed a mech to think what she would do with the next one.

Both were so focused on the task at hand that nobody of them saw a small human reach the base of the altar and throw something on the summit; however, it took them only a few seconds to acknowledge what had happened…

Tikal had saw something land in front of the Master Emerald, but she never had the time to take it and launch it back that the tiny object exploded with a loud boom and an intense heat. It was just because that she was a spirit that she avoided being killed or wounded; still the explosion was enough to throw her backwards and down on the grassy ground below.

She stood up on her fours and shook her head, trying to clear it; it was the first time, after 'dying' that she felt so… dizzy.

The ancient spirit stood up and looked around, confused, then, like it was magnetic, she looked up at the top of the altar.

The old marble had survived fairly well the onslaught brought by the explosion, but something very important was missing.

And that something important was a huge green colored gem of great powers, namely known as the Master Emerald.

"Guardian," She commanded with stern voice, "Go after the Master Emerald. I'll be dealing with these… intruders."

Knuckles nodded and ran towards Rouge, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her to the back of the altar.

"Knuckles, are you sure we can leave her here?"

The echidna glanced at her and lightly smirked, "You don't know what she can do. To tell the truth, neither I, but once I saw her lift Chaos from the ground effortlessly, and that is enough for me to trust her when she says that she can take care of things."

The bat raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off, looking down at the distant ground, and forest, "Say, Knux, how this piece of land can stay afloat without the Master Emerald's powers?"

"You're forgetting that this piece of land, located almost at the center of Angel Island, is the piece of land that housed the Master Emerald for years. Thus it has been soaked into the power far more than the rest of the island. That is why."

"Can you sense the emerald from here or we have to land before you can track it down?"

The Guardian's small grin widened a little more, "You kidding, Rouge? Of course I can sense it!" He exclaimed shoving the bat into the void, then jumping after her.

As they slowly glided down, Rouge lecturing Knuckles about not shoving ladies off of a cliff, they noticed that the humans had their same idea as they launched themselves after them, using parachutes to slow their descent.

* * *

°  
Shadow felt his younger version take a deep breath and open the door.

The room inside was barely lit and the sound of someone breathing raggedly filled the air; it was like listening to someone that had both asthma and pneumonia at the same time…

He walked inside and the door closed behind him; ignoring the faint swish of the pressurized mechanism, he walked onward, towards one of the two beds in the room and stopped three feet from the edge.

Suddenly, he could feel his mouth move, but he couldn't hear his voice; it was like watching one of those old films without audio.

This made the black hedgehog extremely frustrated.

Here he was, with his twin THREE feet from him, and he couldn't even hear what he was saying to him.

He wanted to remember, but why he was unable to do it? Who was the superior being that hated him so much to even prevent him from remembering one of the two persons that he cared so much about?

With a mental sigh, he settled on watching that little bump in the covers move up and down, emitting that awful sound.

"Sha… dow…"

He looked at the ill hedgehog in the bed as his ears picked up his name faintly murmured.

"It… burns…"

That was the most heartbreaking wail he had ever heard that he could actually remember.

He sat on the bed, right next to that figure heavily covered by the blanket and shrouded in darkness, and lifted his hands onto his twin's back, letting them move up and down, trying to soothe the pain that the other hedgehog was feeling.

He could feel him shiver under the blanket, under his hands, breathing haggardly, trying to survive the onslaught brought by the chemical that a group of GUN scientist injected into his system.

He could feel anger welling up in his heart; he wanted so badly to protect him, but how could someone weak like him be able to protect someone so strong?

Tears fell from his closed eyes, splattering onto the dark blanket, as he kept doing the only thing that he could do; help his brother feel better until Gerald came with the antidote.

Slowly, Shadow felt himself remember; he could remember that he was the only one that could soothe his twin's pain whenever he was hurt like that. Not even Maria could do it so well… It was like he had something that everyone else didn't possess…

Sometimes, if he concentrated enough, he could faintly feel, better say sensing, his pain; it was just a faint sensation in the back of his mind, but it told him how the other felt.

And it was awful.

Right now, he could sense it…

A fierce burning pain spreading from his lungs to his throat, his limbs cold and numb and a ferocious, splitting headache.

Then, suddenly, he felt something else; something that wasn't his nor of his brother. Something foreign to them.

It was… danger.

But who was in danger?

Shadow barely acknowledged the fact that both Gerald and Maria rushed into the room; the professor kneeling next to the bed and injecting something to his twin and his granddaughter dragging him away. He even almost missed his pleas to remain next to him…  
°

°  
Again, he was unsure of how much time had passed; it seemed an eternity, yet, at the same time, it seemed to have just passed a few minutes, a few hours at max. It was quite confusing.

But that was not what he was afraid of as there was something far worse than not knowing how much time had passed.

And that was the fact that every time he 'woke up' from a 'slumber', it took him some seconds before remembering what was happening, what happened or even who he was; and not only that, but every time it happened, it took him more time.

This had been one of them, and he was sincerely getting scared.

The creepy dreams/memories had stopped coming, leaving him again into total blankness about his past save for what little he could remember, which was very little. For some reasons he was grateful for that, yet he couldn't stop wondering what happened to him in his past and why he couldn't remember.

A heavy blow to his head perhaps, seeing as he had first woken up into the famous Green Hills full of cuts and bruises.

He was falling 'asleep' again when he felt something, in the back of his mind, that caught his attention. It was familiar, yet at the same time, it was not.

It took him several minutes to understand what it was, but when he did, he was only able to do one thing before darkness claimed him once again, and he hoped that Chaos would do the right thing about it.  
°

* * *

Chaos clutched the bundle in his arms; why things had to be so hard?

He was in a city, under a torrential rain and staring at what was possibly the beginning of the most destructive war between three opponents; and all because they wanted to possess the same thing.

Sometimes he wondered why he didn't stay back on Angel Island…

"And now what we're gonna do…?" Asked the small fox that was hiding behind his legs, fear and desperation evident in his eyes even if he acted brave.

The water creature looked at him, then out of the alleyway they were in; that was right. What was he supposed to do now? The only way out was blocked by three enemy parties.

The BioLizard was strong, the humans were in many and the two mechs were fast and deadly.

Maybe the humans could effectively counter the huge lizard for a brief time, giving him the chance to get out of there, but while the two fought, there would still be those two mechs on his tail.

Well, maybe he could keep them at bay till he was down in the sewers; from there on things would be easier. The BioLizard would be cut off from the chase, humans could still follow them, but they were easy to beat without those huge machinery of theirs.

What could be still a threat would be the two metal beings even if he gained the advantage of tight space.

Chaos looked down at the two hedgehogs; by now, the bundle was drenching wet and cold. Not a good condition for them…

Still, they kept on fighting to survive; he had never seen such vitality and he tanked Nature to have provided them with it.

Looking around, he took a non-well defined piece of metal and launched it into the street; as soon as it clanged to the ground, hell literally broke loose.

The humans started firing their weapons at the BioLizard, while the aforementioned beast started to run towards them launching an outraged scream, bullets bouncing off of her skin and missiles doing nothing but further infuriating her.

Now that one end of the street was free, Chaos took the small fox's wrist into his hand and started running away from the battle.

Like he had suspected, the huge lizard was having a few problems against the many humans as the heavy artillery was successfully keeping her at bay. They weren't hurting her at all, but the force of the impact made her halt into her advance, or even smack her head to the side.

But again, right like he had suspected, the two robots landed in front of him shortly after he left the alleyway; the blue one standing a foot in front of the other, "Chaos, leave the two hedgehogs to us and we'll leave you be." He warned.

The water beast narrowed his eyes and raised his right arm in front of him, ready to swat away any sort of attack and defend himself, the two creatures in his care and the young fox behind him, which was trembling visibly now.

In that moment, time seemed to stop, the rain covering the sounds of the battle on the other end of the street, thus producing a silence that was not a silence. This unnerved both Chaos and Tails to no end.

They needed a solution to this situation, and fast too; the water creature could sense, since now they had intelligence, thus a will and a personality, that the two robots in front of him were on the verge of attacking. He could feel it in the air like it was fog; a malevolent fog that made him involuntarily shudder in his mind.

Then, suddenly, the Chaos Emerald embed into his right arm started reacting.

To what, he didn't know…

* * *

Az 


End file.
